Newly-released video showing police officers brutally beating a University of Maryland student is raising questions as to whether the officers lied in a sworn statement to cover up their actions. The video directly contradicts the officers’ sworn statements after the events, and already, one officer has been stripped of his powers as the Prince George’s County police chief promises a full investigation.
In the March 3 video, student John McKenna, 19, is seen skipping down a street, celebrating his school basketball team’s win over Duke. He comes to a stop before two mounted police officers, and backs away from them. A second later, three officers in riot gear ram into the student and begin beating him with batons. The officers struck McKenna more than a dozen times, leaving him unconscious and bleeding in the street.