Recently, a video went viral on Sunday depicting Philadelphia Police Lt. Jonathan Josey II punching an unarmed woman in the face during the Puerto Rican and Latino Heritage Day at the corner of Fifth and Lehigh Streets.

The video showed the woman, who was “cited for spraying silly string at officers,” in the act before the subsequent punch was thrown.

There has been and will continue to be much debate surrounding this event, as there should be. Mayor Nutter is just one of many people who have spoken out. Some have discussed the tenuous line between authority and police brutality, like Executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania Reggie Shuford, who said, “I was shocked when I saw the video of what happened. I saw absolutely nothing that justified the use of such extreme force to take this woman down.”

Others have busied themselves studying various idiosyncrasies in the officer’s past.

An interesting angle to examine is how allegations of excessive force affect police credibility outside of the afflicted department. For instance, does the Philly cop scandal affect the reputation of Temple authorities?

Naveed Ahsan can be reached at naveed.ahsan@temple.edu.