This is why people of color are hesitant to call the cops.
This black business owner told them he had detained a shoplifter at his place of business and they came in figured he was the robber and assaulted him.
On top of that, they charged him with a crime.
The situation happened nearly three months ago on March 15 but has become public now because of a surveillance video clip released on social media over the weekend. The video shows a police officer walk into Star Spirits & Beverages, a liquor store on Sixth Avenue in Decatur in north Alabama, and immediately punch the owner, 47-year-old Kevin Penn.
Penn says he called police that day to report his store had been robbed and that he was holding the suspect at gunpoint.
As a result of the punch, Penn suffered a broken jaw and some of his teeth were knocked out, his lawyer, Carl Cole, told AL.com. Penn underwent several weeks of treatment, including having his mouth wired shut, his lawyer said.
Penn was taken to the ground, handcuffed and arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations. Police accused him of obstructing their investigation of the robbery, according to court records.
Cops would have gotten away with this but the video leaked on social media so they had to come out and do damage control.
Flip the page to see the video.
