A 53-year old Navy veteran, Christopher David, was left with two broken bones in his hand after being hit repeatedly by the federal agents during the protests at Portland, Oregon. David had approached the cops to remind them of their oath to the country when he was attacked during the demonstrations on Saturday.
As previously reported, the demonstrations carried out under the Black Lives Matter movement started after US President Donald Trump ordered the protection of monuments. Recently, a couple of videos emerged showing officers wearing camouflaged gear arresting and transporting protesters in Portland.
Navy Vet Doused With Pepper Spray, Showed Weapon
David, who graduated from the US Naval Academy, got commissioned as a civil engineer corps officer in May 1988. The Navy vet, who left the Reserves in June 2000, has been awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Rifle (Marksman), and Pistol (Expert).
David, who arrived at the venue after witnessing disturbing images from the protest site, said that he just wanted to remind the federal agents that they had taken oath to the Constitution; and not to a particular person. "What they were doing was unconstitutional. Sometimes I worry that people take the oath of office or the oath to the Constitution, and it's just a set of words that mean nothing. They really don't feel in their heart the weight of those words," David was quoted by NBC Philadelphia.
In the viral video the Navy vet, dressed in a white sweatshirt with 'Navy' embossed over it and Navy ballcap, was seen talking to the federal agents. Suddenly, the officer started hitting David using a baton with both hands as the other officer approached and sprayed pepper spray all over his face. The video also showed an officer pointing a weapon towards David's chest and pushing him away.
"I took a couple steps back, straightened up, and then just stood my ground right there, arms down by my side. They are thugs and goons. I couldn't recognize anything tactically that they were attempting to do that was even remotely related to crowd control. It looked to me like a gang of guys with sticks," stated the Navy vet.
Twitter Cries Enough Is Enough Over Injured Navy Vet
The video of the incident went viral on social media with the hashtag Enough Is Enough trending among the top spots on Twitter. The trend started soon after Meidas Touch, a twitter user, posted a video the incident. The nearly 30-second video has been viewed 1.2 million times on the micro-blogging site.
"There has never been a president who has shown such disdain for our vets and our freedoms. #EnoughIsEnough," wrote a user.
"As the election nears, and 45s poll numbers continue to tank, his tactics will get more destructive. We must honor true heroes like Christopher David, by following his lead to stand up to Trump & Trumpism by making it clear that #EnoughIsEnough!" wrote another user.
"This VIDEO, my god. As a kid, I dreamed of attending the US Naval Academy (childhood tumor took that away from me), like LT Christopher David did. So seeing him beat up by DHS's federal police is sickening to the core," tweeted a user.
"OUR VETERANS DESERVE BETTER. OUR COUNTRY DESERVES BETTER. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," mentioned another.
The protesters who staged the demonstration on Saturday night were termed as violent anarchists by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which accused them of hurling objects, including fireworks and paint at the officers deployed at the site.
