Denver police investigating officers who shot pepper balls at car with passenger

The Denver Police Department has launched an internal investigation following a viral video that showed officers firing pepper balls at a car with a passenger inside, The Denver Post reported Thursday.

In the footage, a man is seen getting out of his car, which is stopped at an intersection, to yell at several police officers, saying they had shot projectiles at his car and that his pregnant girlfriend was inside.

Police, who were wearing helmets and gas masks, told the man to drive away, but he yelled back: “I ain’t going nowhere. Shoot it again.”

Officers proceeded to fire multiple pepper balls at the car, sending powder flying off the hood and windshield before the man got back in and drove away.

The video was from May 29, the second night of protests in Denver following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police office knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.

The Denver Police Department said Thursday evening that the people in the video had been identified and the department is attempting to contact them.

UPDATE: The persons in the video have been identified. We are still working to make contact with them. #Denver

— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) June 4, 2020

When contacted by The Hill, the department said it could not comment until the investigation is completed.

Updated at 1:05 p.m.