An apparent altercation involving two officers, a bouncer and a man in Pittsburgh’s South Side is under investigation after video of the incident surfaced.
The man who took the video, Damian Trott, said he was on Carson Street around 2 a.m. Saturday when he heard a commotion outside The Flats bar.
Trott said he did not see what happened before he started to film.
RAW VIDEO: South Side police incident
“What I saw when I walked up was two officers and a bouncer on top of a guy and a couple of vicious knees to the head and a kick,” Trott said. “The gentleman had his head pushed up against the pavement. There was one officer with his knee on top of the guy’s head."
According to a criminal complaint, one of the officers involved in the incident said the man, Nathan Stanley III, claimed to have a gun and threatened to shoot up the bar.
“Given the previous threats by [Stanley], his aggressive demeanor towards myself and bar security, and the manner in which he reached for his waistband area with his right hand, I greatly feared that an attack was imminent at the time and I did not know what [Stanley’s] capabilities were,” the complaint said.
Police paperwork does not mention whether a weapon was found.
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"An investigation will be conducted into the incident," Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler said. "Anyone who witnessed or has information about what occurred is encouraged to contact the city of Pittsburgh Office of Municipal Investigation."
Pittsburgh police confirmed that the Office of Municipal Investigation is looking into the incident and will determine if the officers' conduct was proper.
Steven Zarglis, owner of Lesvos Gyros, told Channel 11's Marlisa Goldsmith he sees a different angle on the video that has so many talking.
"I mean, the guy was resisting and fighting and punching. What are you supposed to do to him?" Zarglis said.
Beth Pittinger, a member of the citizens police review board, told Channel 11's Jennifer Tomazic the board wants to get a full understanding of the situation.
"What we do see is very concerning because it shows that some blows to the man's head, and you can see his hands are out in front of him," Pittinger said. "So we want to understand better why the continued use of force was necessary."
One of the officers involved wrote in his police paperwork that he kneed Stanley in the face out of fear that Stanley's arms were still under his body attempting to reach for his waistband.
"He vehemently denies saying he had any type of firearm or weapon or gun or anything like that,” said Blaine Jones, the attorney now representing Stanley. “He is, I'd say, shellshocked.”
Stanley is now facing charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.
"He's hurting, you know, emotionally, physically. He had to get some stitches. He's hurting. This is something that's been very traumatic for him,” Jones said.
The video is circulating around Pittsburgh quickly and Trott said the whole situation escalated quickly. Trott said he didn’t see the man on the ground resisting and said the incident was tough to watch.
“It was a pretty brutal scene to walk up on,” Trott said. “The knees and kicks to the head -- it was pretty inhumane to watch for me... . I’ve never seen anything quite to this magnitude before."
"I have been made aware of an incident that took place early Sunday morning outside of an establishment on the South Side that involved two police officers," Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said in a statement Monday morning. "I have been in communication with Public Safety Director Hissrich and Police Chief Schubert and have asked the Office of Municipal Investigations (OMI) to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire exchange."
"We are aware that a bystander captured a portion of the incident on video and that will be taken into account," the statement continued. "We also expect to review security footage from the site of the incident and surrounding establishments that might be available, as well as any documentation and witness accounts of the incident."
Mayor Peduto told Channel 11 the officers involved are still working. There has been no change in duty or assignment, but disciplinary actions could come, pending the outcome of the investigation.
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