A police officer in Fairfax County, Virginia, faces up to three years in prison for assault and battery charges, after he arrested a black man without any obvious provocation, and used a stun gun while pinning him down.

The cop identified as Tyler Timberlake, keeled on his back to cuff him, while the man squirmed and cried, ‘I can’t breathe.’

The incident came into light on Friday, after a body camera footage was released by the Police department, depicting a clear violation of departmental policies on the use of force, CNN reported.

A white police officer in Fairfax County, Virginia, is facing charges after using a stun gun on a black man who cried: ‘I can’t breathe’ pic.twitter.com/tPEnrCt1Kz

— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) June 8, 2020

In the footage, the officer can be seen emerging from a patrol car to address the man walking on a residential street, and right away fires a taser at him.

As the man continues to walk, another officer approaches him, rolls the man onto his stomach, kneels on his back, and activates the stun gun on the back of his neck.

‘The video clearly shows deploying force in violation of our use of force policies, and they are criminal acts which violate our oath of office,’ Chief of Police Col. Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said in a news conference.

He added that the act also erodes the public’s trust on police officers, not only in Fairfax County, but throughout this world, and that such acts are unacceptable.

Roessler informed the media that all officers at the scene have been ‘relieved of duty’, while criminal and administrative investigations are underway.

The identification of the victim has not been released publicly. However, Roessler informed that the man was treated at a local hospital after the release, adding he reached out to the victim and his mother to express his ‘disgust’ with the officer’s actions and assured justice.

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