A video has been circulating on social media showing a police officer remaining calm and collected as he was surrounded, flipped off and shouted at by a group of angry protesters.
The minute-long clip posted on social media shows a uniformed police officer surrounded by what appears to be a group of loud protesters. They repeatedly raise their middle fingers close to the officer’s face shield, and blow cigarette smoke in his face. A laser pointer is also being aimed at the man’s head. Despite the aggressive gestures, the officer remains calm and silent.
The officer was reportedly targeted because he refused to kneel, as was being demanded.
It is not clear where and when the video was filmed, but the officer’s badge says “Sacramento Police.”
The US has seen massive protests and a surge of anti-police sentiment after two black men, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, died during separate botched arrest attempts by white officers. In several major cities, rallies and marches were followed by riots, during which patrol cars and even police precincts were torched or vandalized.
Black Lives Matter activists have been urging officers to kneel in honor of the victims of police brutality. In some cases, the officers took the knee in solidarity with the protesters, while in others they chose do so in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
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