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Pittsburgh Reviewing Violent Police Arrest Caught On Video

Screengrab from video posted by Joce Smith via Facebook
A video captured the violent arrest of a man by Pittsburgh Police officers outside of PPG Paints arena.

*UPDATED: Sept. 21, 2017 at 7:54 a.m.

Pittsburgh officials are reviewing the violent arrest of a man by five city officers, an encounter recorded by a bystander and posted to Facebook.

The 52-second video shows one officer, in particular, punching the man on the ground while saying, "Stop resisting" Tuesday night near PPG Paints Arena. Officers can be heard cursing, and one calls for a Taser.

Police spokeswoman Sonya Toler says force was used because 47-year-old Daniel Adelman, of Ravenna, Ohio, allegedly interfered with the arrest of another man wanted on a forgery warrant.

Online court records don't list an attorney for Adelman, and he doesn't have a listed phone number.

The city's Office of Municipal Investigations and Citizen Police Review Board are reviewing the arrest.

"We have a zero tolerance for excessive force among Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officers. Our management of use of force includes an automatic review of every incident in which force is used when making an arrest," said Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert in a release. "In addition, we have initiated a review that is being conducted by our Office of Professional Standards so that we can ensure that the use of force was objectively reasonable considering the situation confronted by the officers."

Mayor Bill Peduto's office said that one officer, Andrew Jacobs, has been placed on desk duty while the incident is investigated. 

Schubert said the results of the investigations will be publicly shared. 

*This post was updated to include comment from Mayor Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert and reflect that one office has been placed on leave. 

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