Cop Beats Man for Praying on the Beach

Hawaiian monk seals are highly endangered with just 1,000 left in the wild.

The police officer who pepper sprayed, beat and kicked a man who was harassing an endangered Hawaiian monk seal by throwing sand at it could face police brutality charges.

Officer Ming Wang was called out to a beach near Nanakuli, Hawaii after reports that a man was bothering a seal.

A video taken at the scene shows Jamie Kilani Rice, 41, throwing sand at the animal as it basks on the beach.

The Hawaiian monk seal – one of around just 1,000 left in the wild – seems uncomfortable with Rice’s attention and rears its head at the man in a sign he wants him to back off.

After a few minutes officer Wang approaches and orders Rice to leave, but he refuses to do so until the seal eventually rolls off towards the water.

Rice then walks away with Wang following before shouting something at the police officer and continuing to rub sand on his bare chest.

The cop pepper sprays him in the face before hitting him in the legs and arm nine times with his baton.

As Rice lays on the ground, the cop then appears to kick him before putting him in handcuffs. He was later treated for broken bones in his hand, the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported.

According to Hawaii News Now, the officer wrote in his police report that Rice had refused to step away from the seal when ordered to and did not stop walking when he was told he was under arrest.

Harassing a Hawaiian monk seal can carry a sentence of up to five years in jail, as well as fines exceeding $25,000.

Rice, who is said to be bipolar, accepted a plea deal and was jailed for five days following the incident in September last year.

He claimed he thought the seal was sick and was rubbing sand on himself and throwing some at the mammal to make it feel better.

Initially prosecutors decided not to take action against officer Wang – who has returned to active duty – but they are now taking a second look at the case. If they press charges, the officer could be put before a grand jury.

As well as facing the prospect of prosecution, the cop is also being sued by Rice’s family.

His attorney, Michael Green,said: ‘This guy was a threat to no one other than the seal, and the seal and he had parted ways long before that. This is shameful.’

Honolulu mayor Kirk Caldwell told Hawaii News Now’s Sunrise program that the footage ‘troubles him immensely’.

‘What you show on this video is way over the top in my mind in terms of use of excessive force,’ he said.  “If I was the chief of police, I probably would put this guy on desk duty, take away his badge, his baton and his gun and say until this investigation is completed, ‘we want you to sit at a desk’.’