Philadelphia police launch investigation after man injured during arrest

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police have launched an investigation after a man was injured during an arrest.

Video shows police trying to handcuff a man, who was identified by witnesses as Kevin Rovira - or Menor, as he's known to his friends - early Monday morning at Elkhart and Ella streets in Kensington.

A second view from a cell phone shows an officer appearing to slam the suspect into the pavement, as others try to keep a growing crowd at bay.

Action News spoke to witnesses Tuesday night who chose not to show their faces or identify themselves.

"It's crazy. That's the only thing, it's crazy," the male witness said after watching the video.

The clip shows the handcuffed suspect collapsing to the ground, as officers load him into a squad car.

Police say they are aware of the video and they have launched an internal investigation. They could only share that officers were initially in the area for a narcotics investigation.

"Those guys out there have a split second decision to make, and how they make it, they're second guessed, triple guessed, quadruple guessed days after the fact," Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby said.

McNesby says the three minute clip doesn't paint a full picture.

"He was clearly resisting in the middle of the street before they got handcuffs on him," McNesby said.

Police have not said if Rovira was the focal point of their narcotics investigation or if he had drugs. But witnesses say Rovira was homeless and kept to himself, and consider this a case of alleged brutality.

"What was the point of the police abusing him? What do they have against him?" witness Jennifer Morales said.

"He was screaming to get help. He was tied," witness Xiomara Feliciano said.

It's not clear what touched off the arrest, or what happened in the moments that weren't recorded.

Roviro remains listed in good condition at Temple University Hospital.

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