Video shows Jersey City officers kicking, dragging innocent man on fire after crash
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey -- Cellphone video obtained by Eyewitness News shows police officers kicking and dragging an innocent bystander who was on fire following a chase and fiery crash in New Jersey Sunday night.
The incident happened just after 11 p.m. as Jersey City police officers tried to stop the driver of a car near Ocean Avenue and Cator Avenue.
Watch the full story below:
During the pursuit, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said the fleeing driver was involved in two different crashes. In the first, officers fired shots at the driver as he tried to drive between two lanes of traffic. But the driver kept going.
Several blocks later on Tonnelle Avenue, the fleeing driver crashed into a utility pole, causing a fire that somehow injured another driver in a different car.
It's apparently this driver who can be seen in the video (watch the graphic video in the player above). He gets out of his car and is on fire as officers approach him.
In the video, the first officer goes up and kicks the man, knocking him down. Another officer appears to kick the man, too.
The officers then drag the man away from the fire scene - off the sidewalk and into the road.
The man was taken to the hospital with severe burns.
"Our investigators have reviewed the video and we believe with certainty that this man is the bystander from West New York who suffered burns, not Leo Pinkston, the individual pursued by police," said Raymond Worrall, Director of Communications for the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. "As I previously said, we will utilize all resources available to the Prosecutor's Office for a full and thorough investigation as we seek to bring this matter to a rightful conclusion."
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop posted a statement on social media following the release of the video:
