By Police1 Staff
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A video capturing an arrest following a large fight near the Rutgers University campus has been posted to YouTube under the dramatic title “Rutgers Student Brutally Beaten by NBPD.”
Early in the video, one officer can be heard shouting “Stop resisting! Give me your hand!” The suspect — Elliott Marx, 20 — does not appear to comply, and continues to struggle as the officers attempt to put him in handcuffs. After struggling for an undetermined period of time, another officer lands several punches to Marx’s head in an attempt to subdue him.
The filming didn’t begin until late in the arrest, so it’s unclear what led up to the moments that have now been made public in the YouTube video. A police spokesman said as many as 50 people had been fighting prior to the filmed arrest.
The New Brunswick Police Department has launched an investigation to see of the officer was in the wrong, according to MyCentralNewJersey.com. But New Brunswick Police Director Peter Mangrella, who is leading a team that is interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage from a squad-car dash cam, said that he believes Marx was resisting.
“My first take is that I see somebody resisting arrest,” he said. “Was the force justified? That’s what our guys are trying to determine.”