An old video of police slapping an arrestee recirculated on social media

Claim: A Facebook page, What’s on Gambia, shared a CCTV video of a police officer slapping an arrestee recently. 

Verdict: The video captured in a CCTV footage showing a police officer slapping an arrestee is an old video, contrary to social media claims that it’s recent.

Full Text 

What’s On Gambia, a popular online website, recently shared CCTV video footage showing a police officer slapping an arrestee.

The post was captioned, “Police officer sláps young man who has already been arrested during night patrol.”

By the time of this fact check, the video had gained 2.6k comments, 5.4k likes, and 358 shares on Facebook.

The comment section was bombarded with commenters accusing the police of brutalising citizens.

A prominent journalist, Abdoulie Jawo, said, “When they behave like animals, we consider and treat them like the animals they are, period.

I can’t just understand how some of our service men/women in uniform behave; some of them are just heartless.”

Another user, Tamba Jawla, stated, “Very heartless and unprofessional, we have in our service such conduct shouldn’t be tolerated. Police brutality is getting out of hand.”

Meanwhile, Ebrima KB Sonko, a Journalist, also said, “If someone is already under arrest and not resisting, what justification does a police officer have to slap them?

Policing is supposed to uphold the law, not humiliate or brutalise people who have surrendered. Actions like this erode public trust and raise serious questions about abuse of power and accountability within the force.”

The video came at a time when four police officers were arrested for allegedly beating an arrestee to death on Sept. 27, 2025, in Mandinary, a community in the West Coast Region.

The incident led to massive protests within the community, resulting in the arrest and detention of over seven protesters, while several police officers were injured. 

However, the arrested persons demanding justice for the victim were later released unconditionally following a day-long protest that disrupted traffic and businesses.

DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim due to the level of virality and engagement.

Verification

We conducted a reverse image search on Google and TinEye, but found no trace of the video.

However, a close examination of the video reveals contradictory information. While the website suggests that the video is recent, the details reveal otherwise.

The video watermark shows it was recorded in 2024, not 2025. It shows an officer escorting an arrestee into a patrol white pickup truck before another officer arrives. 

The video shows the arrestee raising his hands in the air, indicating no sign of resistance, before the officer slaps him. 

The police have also issued a press release debunking the incident, stating it occurred in 2024.

“The matter was promptly brought to the attention of the Police Command at the time and was duly handled in line with established procedures,” the police said in a statement.

Conclusion

The CCTV video footage posted by What’s on Gambia, making rounds on social media with a police officer slapping an arrestee, is not recent. Evidence shows it was captured in 2024, contrary to social media suggestions, and was intended to raise anger among unsuspecting viewers.