State Police probe pepper spray incident at Boston protest

State police said Sunday night they’re investigating allegations that a state trooper pepper-sprayed a Cambridge man filming police at a demonstration near South Station last Thursday.

Kin Moy , a 24-year-old Cambridge mixed martial arts instructor, said he just wanted to the turn the cameras back on the cops after seeing them film protesters the night a New York grand jury voted not to indict a police officer who put cigarette seller Eric Garner in a chokehold that killed him.

“We have begun an internal investigation into the action seen in the video to determine whether it constitutes a violation of departmental policy,” Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said in an e-mailed statement.

Moy posted video of the incident on YouTube, garnering more than 3,000 hits Sunday night.

“I didn’t get choked out or anything, but I believe it’s an example of the problem,” Moy said in an interview. “I’d like there to be some accountability and repercussions.”

Moy said the spray incapacitated him, temporarily blinding him.

“We take the rights of protesters very seriously, including the right ro report, which is to help ensure that when people are out in the streets demonstrating, they are safe and they’re rights are respected,” said Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.