Homeless Man Aggressively Beaten By Law Enforcement In America

A sheriff's deputy in Oregon in the US has been 'temporarily reassigned' after footage emerged of him punching an already-restrained homeless man.

The homeless man was found with a large blade on his person, which was still sheathed and fastened to his belt when the beating took place.

Jake Thompson, who works for the Marion County sheriff department, has been taken off patrol while the incident is investigated.

The video, obtained by KGW, shows five law enforcement officers approaching the homeless man and wrestling him to the floor.

KGW8

They were out responding to reports of a missing father and son.

The homeless man is 28-year-old Kevin Straw, who can be heard saying: "I came to warn you about the cougar. there's a cougar. It's hurting people."

Also seen in the video are Deputies Derrick Ramseyer, Dave Zahn, Ethan Griffith and Mark Ferron.

He was being arrested for disrupting the crews at the command post and interrupting essential communications.

They've claimed that he was resisting arrest, which is why they had to use force, but the footage suggests otherwise.

He can be heard being told to put his hands behind his back and not move. The homeless man obeys, moving calmly and slowly, before the police officers wrestle him to the floor.

"Hey! Please stop!" the man can be heard shouting, still calm but clearly in distress.

It's at this point that the Sheriff's Deputy begins repeatedly and relentlessly punching the homeless man in the face. The man is still lying on the pavement, pinned by five huge guys, and can't move a muscle to protect himself.

"I am not resisting," he shouts over and over again as the punches keep coming, pleading with the bully to stop punching him and begging for help from passers-by.

The man also shouts that he's disabled, hence his slow movements, that they're hurting him, that he's bleeding and needs medical attention.

He also calls them jerks after realising they have cut his scarf.

Seeing as he's already well restrained, the beating is unecessaryand shocking.

He has apparently been in the Detroit area for a few weeks trying to warn of cougars and military forces.

He was evaluated by paramedics and taken to the Psychiatric Crisis Center in Salem for further evaluation.

We'll have to wait and see what happens to the deputy.

Topics: Police, US News

Daisy Jackson

Daisy Jackson is a freelance writer, who has previously worked at Shortlist Media and Trinity Mirror. She has written about the Manchester terror attacks and appeared on BBC Five live to discuss the aftermath, as well as interviewing an orthopaedic surgeon in Syria.