Anger After US Police Pepper-spray 9-year-old Girl

A nine-year-old girl was handcuffed and pepper-sprayed by police in the US city of Rochester, footage released Sunday showed, sparking new outrage over excesses committed by the country's law enforcement

New York, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Feb, 2021 ) :A nine-year-old girl was handcuffed and pepper-sprayed by police in the US city of Rochester, footage released Sunday showed, sparking new outrage over excesses committed by the country's law enforcement.

Deputy Police Chief Andre Anderson said Sunday the girl -- who has not been named -- had been suffering from a serious mental health emergency, reportedly threatening to take her own life and that of her mother.

Officers called to the scene on Friday eventually responded by handcuffing her, before trying to force her into a car and pepper-spraying her when she resisted, body cam videos released by the city's police force showed.

Footage of police violence against African Americans, including the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, sparked a summer of protests across the US against racial injustice and police brutality last year.

The ethnicity of the young girl in the Rochester incident has not been disclosed.

Rochester police on Saturday said they were "required" to use handcuffs and the irritant against the girl for her own safety.