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Journalist and Hip-Hop historian Dave “Davey D” Cook has once again used his global platform to shed light on the racism and violence that infests police departments across the United States, reporting that during San Francisco’s heartwarming ‘Batkid’ event, D’Paris Charles ‘DJ’ Williams, 20, a Black cyclist and burgeoning photographer in the city, was viciously assaulted by cops.

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As I previously reported for NewsOne, San Francisco recently transformed into Gotham City for Miles Scott, a 5-year-old boy battling Leukemia whose one wish was to be Batman and save the city. After a request by the city’s Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter went viral, volunteers flooded the city by the thousands, with the sole purpose of making little Mile’s wish come true. He was able to save a damsel-in-distress and also battle Riddler and Penguin, before receiving the key to the city from Mayor Ed Lee and special congratulations from President Barack Obama.

See it below:

But while the city was making little Mile’s wish come true, Gotham’s Finest were attacking one its citizens.

Read the eye-witness account of Williams’ friend, Travis Jensen, posted on Instagram:

This is my friend D’Paris Williams, a.k.a. “DJ,” the younger cousin of a close friend of mine. DJ is 21 [sic], employed, attends classes at City College of San Francisco, and just recently has taken up interest in photography. Yesterday afternoon, while riding his bicycle home from the Make A Wish Foundation’s “Bat Kid” happenings, DJ was confronted by two undercover police officers in an unmarked vehicle at the Valencia Gardens Apartments in the City’s Mission District. Apparently, the officers said something to DJ about riding his bicycle on the sidewalk as he was pulling up to his home in the complex. It is unclear whether the officers identified themselves or not, but did proceed to get out of their car, grab DJ from behind as he was entering the home and beat him for no apparent reason. A police search uncovered a cupcake and juice that DJ had just purchased from the corner store. Nobody has spoken to DJ since the incident occurred as he was immediately taken to S.F. General Hospital for treatment, and then to the 850 Bryant police station. So far, it appears no charges have been made against DJ either. There is building video surveillance footage of DJ’s confrontation w/ police, but it that has yet to be released by housing authority. Furthermore, three residents came to DJ’s aid when they saw officers beating him up, only to find themselves also under attack by officers. By this time, uniformed backup had arrived on the scene. Including DJ, a total of four individuals were beaten and arrested by officers.

See footage below – [TRIGGER: POLICE BRUTALITY]:

The SFPD released the following statement:

At approximately 3:41 PM Friday, officers from the Violence Reduction Team, working a plainclothes assignment attempted to stop a bicyclist in the area of Maxell and Rosa Parks for a California vehicle code infraction.  The suspect fled from the officers after they identified themselves as police.  The suspect attempted to flee into a residence.  The officers confronted the suspect near the doorway and requested additional units for assistance.  The suspect failed to comply with lawful orders from the officers and continued to resist the officers.  Reasonable force was used by the officers to effect the arrest.  During this incident, multiple subjects came from the rear of the residence and formed a hostile crowd around the officers.  One subject attempted to strike an officer with a cane, while another suspect bit an officer.  Two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries.  In total, 4 suspects were arrested. 2 felony and 1 misdemeanor arrests resulted in bookings.  One misdemeanor arrest resulted in a cite.

According to the Uptown Almanac, the SFPD refused to release surveillance footage and the District Attorney’s office has dropped charges against Williams’ “pending an investigation.”

A protest is planned in San Francisco today at Valencia Gardens and Mission Station Tuesday at 5pm.

Read more about it here.

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