Man armed with BAZOOKA and armed ‘protectors’ march with Black Lives Matter group after cop hit a black man with his car
A MAN toting a bazooka gun tried to protect demonstrators protesting against the attack of a black man who was mowed down by a white cop in Missouri.
The man with the rocket launcher was part of a larger, heavily-armed bunch of men called the People's Protection Group, who marched alongside protesters against the police in on Tuesday.
The group of gunmen raised their fists in solidarity with protesters and some were seen chatting with police outside their department building in Florissant.
The demonstrations came nearly a month after former police detective Joshua Smith was suspended from the force and charged with assault and armed criminal action.
Footage from a Ring doorbell camera caught the 31-year-old cop running over a 20-year-old black man with his unmarked police car before beating him, reported.
The victim, whom police didn't name, was arrested on June 2 after authorities believed him to be the driver of a vehicle involved in a shots-fired incident outside the Ferguson Police Department.
The man was heard screaming as he was thrown onto the ground by the unmarked SUV before an officer jumped out.
He laid on the ground screaming "Help!" and "I don't have nothing!" as Smith pummeled him.
Authorities said Smith mowed the victim down at around 11:30pm.
Although it was later revealed that the man wasn't the suspect cops were looking for, he now faces charges of drug possession and resisting arrest.
Florissant Police Department Chief Timothy Fagan confirmed Smith's termination earlier this month, according to .
He also said that two other officers who were in the vehicle are on leave.
Although the officers included information about the man being hit in police reports, a miscommunication prevented the details from reaching the chief, Fagan claimed.
"I should have known. There is no excuse," Fagan told the news outlet.
"But I do want to be clear to the public, I think there's been a misconception in some capacity the officers lied or the officers hid the fact that this incident occurred. That's not true."
The victim's attorney, Jerryl T. Christmas, said his client's injuries were far worse than the ankle injury Fagan claimed he was treated for at a local hospital.
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Christmas told the the man's leg was "shattered" and required multiple surgeries.
"He was traumatized," the attorney said.
Police are seeking municipal charges against all three men for possession of drug paraphernalia and arrest, Fagan said.
US Attorney Jeff Jensen said his office, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the FBI are reviewing the case against Smith with Special Prosecutor Tim Lohmar to determine whether federal charges are warranted.