In a disturbing video that's surfaced online, police in Rochester, New York can be seen pepper-spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old Black girl as she begs them to stop.
The clip of the January incident, which was released by the city officials, shows the girl sitting in the back of a police car in handcuffs when an officer assaults her with the chemical irritant. "Officer, please don't do this to me," she pleads. The cop replies, "You did it to yourself, hon." The girl is then left in the back of the car for at least 16 minutes, periodically begging for someone to clean the pepper spray from her face and complaining, "It burns!"
Police had been called to the girl's home to stop a domestic dispute involving her parents, according to Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren. She was taken into custody after she became emotional, police say. Lovely says the two responding officers have been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
What's to investigate? This is clearly excessive.