Cops Handle SXSW Revelers With Questionable Use Of Pepper Spray: VIDEO

AUSTIN, TX -- It was bound to happen, given heavy police presence downtown for SXSW and huge crowds of mostly young people: New video has emerged depicting questionable law enforcement action in employing pepper spray in quelling perceived reveler confrontation.

On a day threatened with potential downpour, a perfect storm of dynamics converged at SXSW this week in an age of heightened scrutiny of police nationwide.

A 15-minute YouTube video uploaded Friday shows police arresting African American festival attendees, in two cases spraying them liberally with mace.

One scene depicts a young African American couple being hit by a steady stream of the pepper spray, prompting videotaping community activists why the woman in the pairing was also sprayed and arrested before police ascertained if she was a victim in the confrontation with a male partner.

The woman is seen grimacing as her hands are put behind her back as the arresting officer applies handcuffs.

Another scene shows a young African American man put in a paddy wagon en route to jail for a yet-unknown offense. A woman outside of camera view curses at the police, asking why he was being locked in the vehicle after being pepper sprayed and possibly having trouble breathing.

Instead of checking on the young man's well-being, a police officer opens the door of the police transport vehicle and asks the detainee “What did I tell you about kicking the door?” before pepper spraying him again while he’s handcuffed, leaving him writhing in pain.

Those posting the video intersperse the images of the police encounters with purported police guidelines banning such police behavior.

Police brass felt compelled to react to the video, issuing a statement Friday afternoon.

“The Austin Police Department is aware of the incident captured on video, and has launched an internal investigation,” they wrote. “Anyone with information on this incident should contact the Austin Office of The Police Monitor at (512) 974-9090.

The latest incidents come against a backdrop of mounting tension between members of the public -- particularly the African American population -- and police.

Last month, a police officer (who also is African American) fired his weapon at an unarmed, naked teenager he said charged at him within seconds of their confrontation. Police had received reports 17-year-old David Joseph was acting erratically in his neighborhood before police made the scene to find him without clothes.

Community activists have questioned the police officer's action, asking why he shot the teen rather than trying to ascertain his state of mind first -- his nakedness while outdoors telegraphing the potential of mental illness or breakdown.

And just this month, the Austin Police Monitor herself, Margo Frasier, issued a somewhat damning report detailing disportionate traffic stops for minorities. As an overall grade, she gave the local police a B- in their approach to minorities with whom they come into contact.

“If you are African American in this community, you stand a 1 out of 6 chance if you’re stopped that you are going to be searched,” Frasier told KXAN-TV in an interview. “If you’re Hispanic, it is 1 out of 9. If you’re Caucasian it’s 1 out 22.”

She suggested the statistics were no abstraction, but a reality for the city’s African American population in particular: “What it says to me is that, officers when they come up and deal with an African American person that they are finding a reason to search them more often.”

Watch the full video below but be warned it contains graphic language: