The Vineland Police Department has found itself the latest target of Anonymous, a cyberactivist group, over allegations that police officers used excessive force that led to the death of 32-year-old Phillip G. White.
On March 31, a 911 call was placed by an unidentified man, who claimed that there was a man "going crazy" in the neighborhood, according to The Daily Journal.
After police officers arrived on the scene, EMS was called and a violent struggle ensued.
Police have released the radio calls transmitted from the scene. Over the course of four minutes, what sounds like a struggle by officers to control White can be heard.
http://youtu.be/VS3vEkNN8uM
At one point, an officer says, “I got a guy grabbing my gun. Dog’s on him right now.”
Shortly thereafter, the officer acknowledges that he subdued White, saying that White tried to disarm him.
White was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he died.
Cellphone video from a bystander has been released, which appears to show an officer on top of White, calling for the police dog to attack while the officer punches White.
Police officials identified the officers involved in the incident as Louis Platania and Richard Janasiak. Anonymous threatened to launch cyberattacks if the officers’ names were not made public. The group allegedly posted personal information about the two officers on a hacker website.
Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave following the incident, which is standard procedure.
Stuart Alterman, the attorney representing the officers, said White showed “super-human strength” as the officers attempted to restrain him. Alterman also said White was pounding on a police car and tried to take the officers’ radios.
An autopsy report and toxicology results have not yet been made public.
The case is generating attention on social media, along with the Walter Scott case in South Carolina.
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