Facebook Live Video Captures Officer Ramming Knife-Wielding Man With SUV
A lawyer for the officer said he had not been placed on administrative leave.
— -- Authorities in Buffalo, New York, continue to investigate today after footage posted on Facebook Live recently showed a police officer intentionally plowing into a man armed with a knife with his patrol sport utility vehicle.
In the video, shot Saturday, the SUV reverses and then accelerates forward, hitting the man as he tries to run away.
Sheila Woodard, who shot the video on her cellphone, said she thought officers would use a stun gun to subdue the man or tackle him.
"[I] didn't think he was going to be run over," Woodard said. "In my opinion, the only person he was harming was himself. I do think this was an excessive use of force. I don't see where there was an officer in danger."
Witness Defends Officer Who Rammed Suspect With Patrol Car
Buffalo police did not identify the man or the officer involved in the incident.
Tom Burton, counsel for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association as well as the officer, said the man was carrying a 12-inch butcher's knife and suffered from mental-health problems. He also said Woodard's video did not show another officer, off-camera, who was the man's apparent target.
"This was a circumstance with a person who could very easily -- and was inclined to -- hurt himself and maybe others," Burton said."The officer perceived a risk. It sure as heck was unorthodox but it worked. [It] knocked him down. ... The purpose was to incapacitate this fellow, not hurt him."
According to Burton, the man suffered an ankle injury. The officer, a 20-year veteran on the force, was not placed on administrative leave.
Burton said the department's Internal Affairs was reviewing the incident but there'd been, so far, "nothing punitive against this officer administratively."
"This officer wanted to end what potentially could've been a very bad scenario and he did it," Burton said.
The Buffalo Police Department did not immediately comment.
ABC News' Heidi Jensen, Courtney Condron, Liz Sintay and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this story.
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