What had been a weekend of shooting violence in Paterson exploded Sunday when a melee erupted after a witness claimed that police struck a fleeing suspect with a patrol car.

A cell phone video posted by another man on Facebook shows him being hit with pepper spray after refusing several commands by uniformed officers to get back as their colleagues tried lifting the suspect off the ground and into a patrol car.

"I can't see," he shouts, running down the street with the video still recording before he falls.

"I can't breathe," he says, as police try to reassure him.

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ALSO SEE: Latoya LeSane, a senior living assistant and former dance studio owner, remained in critical condition at St. Joe's while authorities continued searching for the gunman who shot her and three other people -- killing two of them -- inside a BMW on 12th Avenue Sunday night following some type of domestic dispute.

https://southpassaic.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/paterson-senior-aide-clings-to-life-after-double-murder-shooting/741655/

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One woman commented under the video: "Everybody should tag the mayor and the police department."

Another wrote: "Wow this sh*t really just made me cry[.] I hate PATERSON cops[,] son."

And another: "Such a punk to hide behind another officer and mace someone in the face.. coward!!"

Others zeroed in on what they believe prompted the spraying.

"They told repeatedly to back up and not interfere," one man wrote. "If they tell you to back away and you steady keep moving up to them telling them not to touch you what did you think they were going to do? Nothing? They're cops[,] not street n----s{. T]hey don't have time to deal with that kinda sh*t.

"I didn't say it was wrong to record them," he added. "I said if they tell you to back up multiple times and you don't do you think they're just going to let you do as you please? NO!

"What mofos think they can just do whatever they want when a cop tells them to back up if they're recording and telling cops not touch them?"

One man unleashed a string of angry words, some of them it profanity, after writing: "No respect for authority, you get what you deserve."

He tried to point out that he's Hispanic and has had run-ins with police but still shows them respect.

"This isn't your struggle," a woman responded. "And you may not be white, but you're damn sure not black either. So until you KNOW the struggle....OUR struggle....your comment is irrelevant.

"You see how I just conducted myself? Just because we know how to play defense doesn't mean were incomprehensible. Now F*CK THE POLICE! F*CK YOU and have a BLESSED DAY CHY!"

One man responds: "I’m black too and it’s this thing called 'respect your authority.' Maybe if y’all ditched that hood sh*t attitude maybe we wouldn’t be in the sh*t hole of 'police brutality' to begin with. Cop says step back you step TF back simple as that and if you don’t comply [and] come at the cop on some more bullsh*t you get yah ass handled."

A woman adds: "There [are] two sides to the story. We happen to only see a snippet of what happened but not what led to things going haywire."

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