Police release third controversial video depicting use of force by Chicago officers in recent weeks, of Philip Coleman, who died in December 2012

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Chicago police released video footage of officers repeatedly shocking a man in a jail cell with a Taser, the third controversial video depicting use of force by Chicago police released in recent weeks.

The 2012 footage, which was released late Monday and does not contain audio, shows Philip Coleman lying on a cot before six officers crowd into his cell. The officers appear to speak with Coleman before surrounding him and shocking him with a Taser. The officers then drag Coleman’s limp body out of the cell and down the hall.

The officers involved have said they used force because Coleman was uncooperative. An attorney for Coleman’s family says he was shocked at least three times. He was later taken to a hospital and died.

A medical examiner ruled that Coleman’s death was an accident resulting from antipsychotic drugs he received in the hospital, but the autopsy showed that Coleman had experienced trauma, including more than 50 bruises and scrapes on his body, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Coleman, a 38-year-old black man, was detained in December 2012 after family members called police, saying that he was acting erratically and had assaulted his mother. Coleman’s father has sued the city of Chicago alleging civil rights abuses in police treatment of his son.

Chicago police released 911 calls and documents from Coleman’s case in addition to the surveillance footage. Footage from the incident was released in response to a records request from Chicago’s CBS 2, according to police.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized Coleman’s treatment in a statement released with the video on Monday night.

“I do not see how the manner in which Mr Coleman was physically treated could possibly be acceptable,” Emanuel said in the statement. “Something is wrong here – either the actions of the officers who dragged Mr Coleman, or the policies of the department.”.

The acting head of Chicago police, superintendent John Escalante, said in a statement that the case remained under review. The Independent Police Review Authority (Ipra), a civilian agency which investigates allegations of Chicago police misconduct, reportedly closed its investigation of the case in 2014 and ruled the officers’ use of force justified. But, according to a Chicago police spokesperson, the agency and the police department are both investigating the incident.

“While the independent investigation is ongoing we will be doing our own review of our policies and practices surrounding the response to mental health crises,” Escalante said.

Ipra did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

The video release followed a day of intense scrutiny for Chicago law enforcement.

On Monday morning, US attorney general Loretta Lynch launched a civil rights investigation into the practices and policies of the department. The justice department review comes after Chicago police released dashcam footage of the 2014 death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager shot by a Chicago officer. The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged in connection with the shooting and gave investigators an account of the incident which differs dramatically from the scene captured on camera. The head of Chicago police, Garry McCarthy, was fired after the video was released.

Also on Monday, Emanuel appointed a new head for Ipra after the resignation of the agency’s chief investigator Sunday evening.