Police officers in New Jersey are facing scrutiny over their use of force after videos of their response to reports of a street fight went viral on social media. While authorities say the use of batons and pepper spray was justified and some of the viral videos have been edited, Jersey City residents who witnessed Tuesday's incident blame police for escalating the situation.
Officials said at a news conference Wednesday that the situation escalated after a juvenile tried to grab an officer's gun. Police Chief Michael Kelly said that three calls were received within a short time Tuesday regarding a street fight on Bostwick Avenue. The last call indicated that people were involved. Kelly said six officers were dispatched and that a crowd engaged with and fought responding officers.
When asked by a reporter Wednesday if a fight was occurring when police arrived at the scene, Public Safety Director James Shea said police were still recovering video and that "some of the video being posted is clearly edited.
Videos posted to social media that have been widely shared show an officer striking people with a baton during the altercation. NBC News has not been able to verify what happened before or after the events shown on the videos. Another officer tried to help but was bear-hugged by a man, identified by police as Dashawn Muhammed.
The officers fell and another man, Roland Gregory, approached and went "on top of" the officer, Shea said. Pepper spray was deployed but had no effect, Shea said, so an officer used an expandable baton on two men who were wrestling with police officers. Shea said a preliminary review of the evidence shows that all proper procedures and protocols were followed.
