Graphic Body Camera Video Shows Police Officer Pummeling Black Motorist With Flashlight, Leaving Him With Broken Ribs And Jaw

Graphic body camera footage from a 2019 traffic incident in Louisiana shows a police officer pummeling a black driver more than a dozen times with a flashlight, leaving the man with a broken jaw and three broken ribs, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The May 2019 incident unfolded when Aaron Larry Bowman was pulled over for a traffic violation. Louisiana State Troopers forcibly took Bowman out of his car and put him to the ground, the AP reported. Jacob Brown, a white trooper, arrived on scene, having later told investigators he “was in the area and was trying to get involved.”

Brown jumped out of his police cruiser and began hitting Bowman on his head within seconds of “initial contact,” using an aluminum flashlight with a pointed end to strike Bowman repeatedly, according to the AP, which cited an investigative report.

Video footage obtained exclusively by the AP shows Bowman laying on the floor as several officers are seen holding him down.

“I’m not resisting! I’m not resisting!” Bowman can be heard screaming in the video as he is held down to the floor. Brown appears to be hitting Bowman in the head several times.

“I’m not resisting!” Aaron Larry Bowman heard screaming between blows on the footage ⁦@AP obtained⁩. The 2019 beating following a traffic stop by Louisiana State Police left him with broken jaw, three broken ribs, broken wrist and a gash to his head https://t.co/n3CInR0NJ6

— Rilwan Balogun (@RilwanFox8) August 25, 2021

Bowman tried to tell officers he had done nothing wrong and was a dialysis patient, according to the AP.

“I’m not fighting you, you’re fighting me,” he screamed. Brown reportedly screamed back, “shut the fuck up!” and “you ain’t listening.”

Bowman can be heard in the video saying, “I’m bleeding” and “they hit me in the head with a flashlight.” (RELATED: REPORT: Bodycam Footage Shows Black Man Being Shot With Stun Gun For Refusing To Lay Down Over ‘Dirty License Plate’)

An investigation into the incident later determined that Brown used unreasonable and unnecessary force, according to the report. Brown had defended his use of force as “pain compliance.”

Bowman is not seen hitting any of the officers in the video footage provided by the AP.

The incident left Bowman with a broken jaw, three broken ribs, a broken wrist and a gash that required six stitches on his head, the AP reported.

The incident happened less than three weeks after Louisiana State Troopers dragged, punched and hit another black motorist who led police on a chase after he failed to stop for a traffic violation.

Ronald Greene, 49, repeatedly told troopers he was “scared” as he was wrangled to the ground, the AP exclusively reported. Authorities later told Greene’s family he died on impact after he crashed into a tree and later changed their story to claim Greene died on his way to the hospital after a struggle with police, according to the AP.

Prosecutors are looking at both Bowman and Greene’s cases to determine whether the state police and troopers are involved in cover-ups and have a pattern of police brutality, according to the AP.

Bowman’s case was not investigated for more than a year after it happened and was only investigated after Bowman filed a civil lawsuit, according to the report.

Brown currently faces charges of second-degree battery and malfeasance in Bowman’s case, along with other charges stemming from two other allegedly violent arrests of black drivers, the AP reported. Brown resigned in March and had 23 use-of-force incidents since 2015. Nineteen of those incidents involved a black person, state police records show, according to the AP.