Imagine going into a food mart to grab a pack of hot links and getting ambushed with a slew of knuckle sandwiches by the cops. Well, the family of a Black California man claim this is what happened to him and the footage of the incident is even more brutal.
The family of 36-year-old Travon Attison told FOX 11 the incident happened just after celebrating the New Year when the man and his wife walked into the Food 4 Less in San Bernardino. One of the employees greeted Attison by saying, “Wassup cuz?”
In response, Attison took offense believing the employee was labeling him as a gang member and demanded the employee be removed from his shift, the family told reporters. Attison’s wife said he raised his voice drawing a security guard to ask him to calm down which he refused to do.
As a result, the report says the guard called the cops.
In a disturbing bystander video of the incident, Attison is seen being taken to the ground by four officers who all appear to restrain him on the ground to place him in handcuffs. However, amidst the detainment, the cops were seen throwing both knuckles and knees at the man repeatedly. Attison’s family and other shoppers watched in horror, yelling for the officers to stop, as the scene unfolded.
“We came for hot links and hot dogs,” said one relative, “and we got police brutality.”
The family believes there was “no reason” for Attison’s interaction with the police to be as violent as it was, per the report.
“You’re supposed to come and deescalate the situation,” one family member said to FOX 11. They also described one of the punching officers as having a “temper” and demanding they be removed from duty for excessive force.
It’s unclear if any action was taken against the officers by the police department. However, authorities told FOX 11 Attison is charged with felony assault and resisting an officer, adding he was currently on parole and had a “lengthy” criminal history.