Brazil: Two police officers suspended after one was seen standing on a black woman’s neck

Two military police officers in Brazil have been suspended after one was seen standing on a black woman’s neck.

The decision to investigate the cops was announced by São Paulo Governor João Doria after the 51-year-old victim suffered a broken neck during the scuffle with police.

In the video, a cop aims his gun at a man, who was seen taking off his t-shirt. The officer then approached the woman and pushed her back while she was standing next to his partner who was handcuffing a man.

The woman later appeared in the video lying face down on the ground with the police officer driving his boot into her neck. The other cop could be seen in the background dragging a second male individual, who was later arrested.

The incident took place May 30 in Parelheiros, the capital of São Paulo, according to Brazilian news outlet G1.

The woman, a widow and mother of five children, said she was attempting to play peacemaker between the police and her friend, who was being questioned after the cops responded to a noise complaint.

A struggle ensued between the two police officers and the man before he was placed under arrest.

‘Then I asked the policeman not to hit him anymore because he was already passed out, lying on the floor,’ the woman said.

She said of the moment she was lying on the ground: ‘The more I struggled, the more he [cop] tightened the boot around my neck.’

She was treated at a local hospital for her leg injury and had several cuts that required 16 stitches.