Above photo: Monica McKinney holds a Black Lives Matter sign on June 27, 2020 in downtown Tampa, Florida. Octavia Jones/Getty Images.
A Black Lives Matter activist was hospitalized after police in Tampa, Florida, were seen kneeling on her neck in a video shared on social media.
Protesters said Jae Passmore had been leaving a demonstration in downtown Tampa on Wednesday night when she was detained by police, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
In on video shared on Instagram, Passmore is seen being pinned to the ground by several officers as protesters shout at them to free her.
“Stop! Get your knee off her neck!” A protester can be heard repeatedly yelling. Another is heard screaming: “Get off of her like that!”
In a caption alongside the video, the person who posted it, identified only as Lara, wrote that police emerged from unmarked vehicles and “brutalized” Passmore. It added that Passmore remained on the ground for almost 20 minutes afterwards and was then taken to hospital. Lara has been contacted for additional comment.
“This video is the aftermath. Notice how TPD stand there while our comrade is on the ground. Not answering any questions. Not letting us know she is okay. The lack of humanity is disgusting. The targeting is not okay.”
Kai Robinson told The Times that he was leaving a protest with Passmore when police jumped out of unmarked police cars and tackled her to the ground.
The 22-year-old said officers appeared to target Passmore, but he and other protesters don’t what for. “They specifically wanted Jae, they went for Jae and they didn’t even look at anybody else,” Robinson told the newspaper.
According to The Times, Passmore has been a prominent presence at Black Lives Matter protests in Tampa in the months since the death of George Floyd in May.
Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer was captured on camera kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes while he gasped that he couldn’t breathe.
His death, and the killings of other Black people by police, triggered nationwide protests against police brutality and racism in cities and towns across the U.S. with demonstrators calling for reform and police departments to be defunded.
At a protest on June 21, Passmore was injured after a pickup truck driver cursed at demonstrators before driving over a Meridien and hitting her, The Times reported. No arrests have been made in connection with that incident.
The Tampa Police Department and the Tampa Bay Activist Network have been contacted for comment.