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Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are investigating an encounter recorded on video that shows a man being held down by multiple officers in a Walmart superstore on Thursday.
Christopher Enloe, an uncle of the man in the video posted on TikTok, said his nephew had gone into the store to get food for his family. He said his nephew was accused of stealing pizza and was tackled by officers.
The Kansas City Kansas Police Department said the incident is being reviewed to determine whether the three officers involved complied with policy.
Police said review of the incident began before the video, which was recorded by Enloe and verified by NBC News, was shared online.
Enloe said he called his 24-year-old nephew to bring him some gas after his vehicle broke down in front of the Walmart. After his nephew left, Enloe said he realized the vehicle still wouldn’t start and asked his nephew to return with jumper cables.
His nephew went inside to get food while Enloe waited for his vehicle to start, he said.
Less than 10 minutes later, a woman went to Enloe’s car and told him his nephew was being tackled by officers, according to Enloe.
Enloe said his nephew told him a police officer had asked if he had a receipt for his purchase and after he said he did, he continued to walk away. In the video, people standing around can be heard telling officers that the man had a receipt and that he had been next to them in line paying.
The officer then ran up, grabbed his nephew by the neck and threw him into a vending machine, the nephew said according to Enloe. The video shows the interaction after the nephew is already on the ground and is being held down by an officer.
A second officer goes over to try to put the nephew’s hands behind his back, and appears to kneels on the nephew’s neck, the video shows.
Enloe can be heard telling the man on the ground, who is yelling at officers, to “stop” and comply with the officers, according to the video.
Enloe has said his nephew is innocent, and that police didn’t have just cause for their actions.
“As far as the police force goes, we’re looked at as guilty and we have to prove our innocence before they have to prove our guilt,” he said.
In a statement, the police department said the officers will be “held accountable based on the outcome of the investigation.”
“THE KCKPD expects all officers to follow all policies, procedures and the law when interacting with the public,” police said.
Walmart said it would not comment until police had released their report into the incident
Police did not immediately respond to a request for information about possible charges.
Cristian Santana contributed.
