Footage of police asking Robert Crimo to 'do me a favour' sparks debate

Footage appearing to show the arrest of alleged mass shooter Robert Crimo III has sparked debate after a police officer asked him to “do me a favour”.

Yesterday, at least six people were killed and many more were injured when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on a 4 July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

After an hourslong manhunt, Crimo was apprehended by police and footage purporting to show his arrest has been shared online.

In the clip taken by a person inside a vehicle, the arrest appeared to take place at a large intersection.

Multiple armed officers were on the scene and an officer could be heard giving Crimo instructions over a loudspeaker.

At one point, the officer told Crimo: “Do me a favour, get on your knees, get on your knees lay down flat on your stomach.”

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With police shootings of unarmed Black citizens occurring all too frequently in the United States, the officer’s order has sparked debate over racism and the police’s treatment of people of colour.

Responding to the video, one person wrote: “‘Do me a favor’ after committing mass murder is *peak* White Privilege!”

Someone else wrote: “The other day American police officers unloaded 90 rounds into the back of an unarmed black man stopped for a traffic violation.

“Just for comparison purposes.”

Another person commented: “When I read that the shooter had been captured alive, we knew it would be a ‘white guy’ with ‘mental health problems’.”

“It's not that they didn't kill him. We don't want cops killing anybody.

“It's that they very obviously and blatantly know how to arrest someone without killing them, which makes police killings a choice,” someone else argued.

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