Syracuse Police Facing Discipline for Viral Takedown

UPDATE: The Syracuse police officers seen taking down two men in a viral video will face discipline and retraining. Body cam footage showed the officers violating police department policy, according to Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile.

A traffic stop revealed that the driver, 21-year-old Jaumar Chandler, and the passenger, 22-year-old Antal Tatum, in the vehicle did not have valid driver's licenses. Chandler was handcuffed and put in a patrol car after refusing to listen to police.

While in the patrol car, Chandler made multiple comments about "shooting the officer and spitting on the officer.

The takedown happened when Chandler was released and spat at an officer.

I realize the optics of strikes to the face and head are always bad, but if done with control and purpose, they are within policy and within DCJS standards. The purpose of these strikes is to force the arrestee to raise his hands so officers can take his wrists and place him into custody.

Tatum was taking down for trying to intervene.

Original Story

A scuffle between Syracuse Police and two community members has quickly gone viral.

A video, now making the rounds on social media, shows a chaotic scene on a neighborhood street where at least seven Syracuse Police officers are seen taking down two men.

A bystander, who can be heard laughing at the beginning, shot the video of seven officers taking down the two men on the 500 block of South Avenue. It already has over 800,000 views in less than 12 hours and more than 1,000 comments.

Credit - Khi Ayee/Facebook

Rough Takedown

An officer can be seen throwing one man to the ground while 4 other officers take down the second man.

At one point an officer even punches one of the men whos is already down on the ground.

Be advised - the video is NSFW. It contains coarse language.

No Police Statement

What’s unclear — and what’s sparking outrage online — is what led up to the takedown in the first place.

As of now, Syracuse Police have not released any details about why the two men were being confronted or what charges, if any, they may be facing.

The video has sparked a flood of comments, with some calling the officers' actions excessive, while others say there may be more to the story that hasn’t come out yet.

For now, the video has left more questions than answers — and a lot of people in Syracuse waiting to hear what really happened before the cameras started rolling.