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Newly Released Bodycam Appears To Show Miami-Dade Officer Kneeling On Suspect Yelling 'I Can't Breathe' In 2018 Arrest

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It was two years ago this week when Keeler Harris took off running as Miami-Dade Police tried to arrest him.

Officers said he was behind the wheel of a car wanted in connection with a robbery and it also had a stolen tag. Officers caught up with him.

"Put your hands behind your back!  Stop resisting," one officer yelled.

Moments later, the take down, and body cam video shows an officer punching Harris.

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Bodycam image from the arrest of Keeler Harris) (Courtesy: Sebastian Ohanian)

The police report read, "THE DEF WAS OBSERVED REACHING INTO HIS WAIST BAND."  The officer said he was afraid Harris was reaching for a weapon.

Harris's attorney, Sebastian Ohanian, provided the bodycam video and describes what happens next.

"The officer gets on top of Mr. Harris. He puts his leg on Mr. Harris's neck, choking him. He takes his wrist and puts it in a painful wrist lock, ultimately ends up breaking Keeler's arm," Ohanian said.

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Bodycam image from the arrest of Keeler Harris) (Courtesy: Sebastian Ohanian)

While on the ground, Harris can be heard yelling in the body cam video, "I can't breathe." Then an officer says, "You can breathe, don't try to get up. We'll let go if you don't try to get up. Do not resist."

Harris continued to yell, "I can't breathe!"

His attorney said, "He's in handcuffs, he's not a very large individual and you have another very large police officer crushing him. He's literally crushing him. It's sad and it's shocking," Ohanian said.

Steadman Stahl is the police union president.

"The limited video that I saw, his knee is on his back, it's not on his neck," Stahl said.

He sees the take down differently.

"When he's saying he can't breathe I would believe it because he just ran from the officers.  I don't know how far he ran, but he's out of breath," Stahl said.

And there's the allegation that Harris hit an officer. His attorney said it didn't happen, that during the initial struggle it was an officer who mistakenly hit a fellow cop.

"He's entitled to a judge, he's entitled to a jury of his peers and he did not receive that," said Ohanian. "He was punished by this police officer.

"We have to get the message out that you shouldn't be in stolen cars, you shouldn't be running from police officers, you shouldn't be resisting arrest," Stahl said. "We need to change this mindset that police are the bad guys in this thing here."

Miami-Dade Police say they have not received an official complaint about the incident. But now that they're aware of it, an internal affairs investigation is underway.

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