Video Shows Dover Police Hitting Restrained Teen; Probe Launched

DOVER, NJ — Three Dover police officers have been suspended and an investigation is underway after a video that shows a police officer repeatedly hitting a restrained teen in the face went viral online.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office confirmed they were investigating the incident, which happened during an early-Sunday morning arrest.

"The Morris County Prosecutor's Office notified the NJ Office of the Attorney General of this matter and is conducting the investigation under the supervision of the OAG. No further information can be released at this time," a spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office said Monday morning.

"As part of the Attorney General’s focus on building community trust, the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability will be investigating this incident. Anyone with additional information should contact the OPIA hotline at 1-844-OPIA-TIP," a spokesperson told Patch.

Cyprian Luke, 19, of Morristown, was arrested around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Dover Mayor James Dodd said he was wanted for aggravated assault. Luke can be seen on the video being hit by a police officer as officers pinned him to the ground and attempted to hand cuff him.

Dover Mayor James Dodd said three police officers had been put on administrative leave with pay as the investigation is conducted, but asked the public to not rush to judgement.

"Mr. Luke resisted police efforts to take him into custody. There is no reason for me to believe at this time that race played any role," Dodd said, adding, "I understand that we live in an age of social media where there is a tendency to rush to judgement, however; given that the independent investigation now ongoing, I urge everyone to show restraint until all of the facts come out and the independent investigation is complete."

He said that he would not "tolerate abuse of any kind from any officer towards a member of the public and if the investigation sustains that showing, swift action will be taken."

Marcus Robinson, who was with Luke in Dover to get tattoos, captured the incident on video. He declined to speak with Patch Monday morning, referring to previous statements made to the media.

"First thing I see is they sprayed him with mace. They were all over him, he couldn't move his arms, but then they were saying 'stop resisting' at the same time. And then they started punching him. I thought bro was going to die," Robinson told the Daily Record. He said that both he and Luke were sober at the time of the arrest.

Once Luke is in hand cuffs, police can be seen dragging him back to the cruiser. Someone off-camera asks repeatedly for several officers' badge numbers but is rebuffed, with one police officer telling him, "Don't worry about it."

You can watch the two video clips below, complied into one video (clip two starts around :30). The video may be disturbing to some viewers, and contains graphic language. Viewer discretion is advised:

The video was first uploaded around 3 p.m. on Sunday. As of 10 a.m. on Monday, it has over 53,000 views ans over a thousand likes and retweets.

Luke is charged with assault, criminal mischief, and violating court orders. He has a court date Monday at 1:30 p.m., the Prosecutor's Office said.