Harrowing footage of 70-year-old man with bone cancer being slammed to the ground by Oklahoma police officer accused of using 'excessive force'

Chilling footage has circulated online showing a 70-year-old man with bone cancer being slammed to the ground by an Oklahoma police officer.

The city’s police department released body-camera footage from October 27 that shows a police officer arresting Lich Vu after pulling him over during a traffic stop.

The cop, identified as Joseph Gibson by USA Today, pulled the elderly man over for an illegal U-turn on the NW 39th Expressway.

The start of the harrowing video reveals Vu, who is sitting in his car with his wife, talking with Gibson. “I didn’t U-turn,” he says, to which Gibson then asks the man to sign a citation for an improper U-turn.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vu replies, adding that another driver hit his car. “Me? Citation? She hit me and I got the citation?” he says, before he gets out of the car and gestures to explain the situation to the cop, who then says they are “done arguing about this”.

Vu responded: “I want to show you,” and Gibson replied: “We argue in court… If you don’t sign this, you go to jail.”

“I’m ready to go to jail,” the man hit back, so Gibson asks him: “You’re ready to go to jail? Ridiculous.” He proceeded to head over to the other driver involved in the incident and gave her a ticket before returning to Vu.

Lich Vu was arrested after arguing with the police. Credit: Oklahoma City Police Department

The men continued to bicker back and forth about the road incident until Vu seemingly tapped Gibson’s chest with the back of his hand. He then brings his finger up to his mouth and says: “You shut up.”

The police officer then grabbed the old man's arm and twisted it behind him before pinning him to the ground.

Another shocking surveillance footage angle from nearby shops revealed the 70-year-old's head appearing to forcefully hit the ground as the cop put handcuffs on him.

According to KFOR, Vu, who has bone cancer, ended up suffering a brain bleed and had to undergo surgery due to the harsh arrest. He has remained in the hospital and is “in and out of consciousness, but stable," his family members revealed to the publication.

Thuan Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese American Community of Oklahoma, has called for Gibson to be fired from the police department.

“We don’t want our police department nor our [district attorney] to take it lightly. We want justice to be served,” Nguyen told NBC. “We are always the last to be heard … so no matter whether we’re the person that is at fault or not at fault, our statements are always last … And so in certain cases, that indicates implicit bias.”

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Police Department disclosed on Facebook that “an investigation was immediately initiated and the officer was placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation”.

“The Oklahoma City police department is dedicated to transparency and accountability. We want our community to know that this case is being thoroughly investigated, and the review process will take time to complete,” they added.

Featured image credit: Douglas Sacha / Getty