While I am the least pro-cop person you will meet, I do consider myself a fair person. Assuming the cops got a kidnapping call, I don't think the situation was "escalated" too far with the exception of the driver's injury. I assume the driver didn't resist, so there should have been no violence, especially since they had control of the driver. But I do understand the circumstances. One of those comedy of errors that could have had tragic consequences. I hate to think what would have happened if the driver wasn't "white".

@Electric Ed She may not have called the cops directly. Remember, she had Uber up on her phone..not 911. Uber may have relayed the info to the cops. It's probably why they only had info that a kidnapping had occurred. Limited ability to communicate paired with the old phone relay issue of accuracy. Combine this with the recent problem Uber had with a fake Uber driver kidnapping and raping a drunk girl..and you understand why they might be a little on edge when the person that was supposed to be picked up by Uber calls and says the driver is taking her in the opposite direction of where she needs to go. Oh..and Google and Uber...they are worldwide and come in many different languages. Just because she knows very little English doesn't mean she doesn't know how to use an app.

All the cops probably heard was "report of a kidnapping" on the radio. When someone kidnaps someone else..they sometimes do it at gunpoint or are armed in case of "complications." Cops can't take a chance on a hostage situation or a shoot out unfolding..so they will take the guy down with some force. They usually don't "talk". Their only communication is usually "Driver..step out of the vehicle...hands where I can see them..face away from me and walk backwards to the sound of my voice." Even had the driver asked what it was about..they would have asked for compliance first and discussed the "whys' later. You need to watch more LivePD to see what I mean.

But what if he WAS an armed kidnapper?? Are they supposed to "talk" to a kidnapper giving them time to take out a weapon? It wasn't necessary to slam his head, sure, but everything else they did was 100% reasonable.

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Yeah, I smell BS on this story. USA isn't supposed to be a developing world police state, after all. Also, there was someone at the other end of the phone who understood what the woman was saying, and spoke English enough to call the cops: but did not think about talking with the driver?

Depends where in Europe. I've heard some pretty bad things about the behaviour of cops in Italy and Greece. Probably not limited to those countries but they are the only ones I've visited recently.

yeah, if he has his hands up and is complying to the officers commands, there should be no need for that kind of force. Makes me a bit sick that the cops got away with it and laughed about it. I understand the need for using force and under the other circumstances I think it is completely necessary. If this drivers account is accurate then there should have been no need to slam him the way they did. Now after that statement lets say the unpopular theory: Maybe it was an "over correction". Since he was white the cops were more aggressive with him so that other minorities they have abused in the past can see that they treat all people equally over aggressive. I mean thats just good PR at that point.