Cop In Hot Water After Viral Video Of Him Choking a Kid

Video of a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officer violently arresting a 13-year-old Black teen on Sunday has gone viral on social media, prompting an investigation by his department.

The video shows the unnamed officer pinning the teenager to the ground, an arm around the boy's neck. Insider has chosen not to republish the video and is blurring the boy's face in screenshots.

"You're choking him!" a bystander can be heard yelling in the video.

At the end of the 23-second clip, another officer is seen coming to help lift the boy up and put him in handcuffs.

In a statement, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge said she had seen the video of the "concerning encounter" and promised a "prompt, transparent review," according to The Advocate.

Broome said she requested that police body-camera footage of the arrest be released, but that would require court approval since the incident involves a juvenile, WBRZ reports.

Chief Murphy Paul of the Baton Rouge Police Department said the department was investigating whether the officer followed protocol in the boy's arrest, according to WBRZ.

A police spokesman told Insider on Tuesday morning that as of Monday, the officer had not been placed on leave.