2015/05/26
“Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” she said, as the cops began tugging at her arms and twisting her wrist back to cause her pain. This was after she wouldn’t give them her name. Police Department says she was “resisting.”
BARSTOW — A video that caused outrage online after showing a pregnant woman physically manhandled by a police officer has received a reply from the Barstow police department.
The video was released by the ACLU on YouTube.
It shows a woman who is 8-months-pregnant.
It shows a Barstow Police Officer using physical violence against that woman, wrestling her to the ground.
The Barstow Police Department released the following excuse:
“The City of Barstow has reviewed the video link regarding Charlena Cook’s arrest. It is apparent that Ms. Cook actively resisted arrest.”
The statement goes on to deny that any racial motivation was involved:
“The Barstow Police Department continues to be proactive in training its officers to assess and handle interactions with emotionally charged individuals while conducting an investigation, for the protection of everyone involved. This incident was in no way racially motivated, as implied by the ACLU.
Barstow is a racially diverse community as is our Police Department, and we affirm our Police Department’s commitment to protect and serve all of our residents.”
The woman can be heard screaming on the video, saying “Do not touch me!”
She even warned the Officer that she was with child.
That didn’t stop the Officer from laying his hands on her body anyway, and wrestling her to the ground.
Whether the baby inside her womb was harmed is not yet clear, but our hearts go out to this woman and her child.
The incident started when the officer asked for the woman’s name, to which she replied that she was not legally required to give it to him.
The video then shows the officer wrestling the woman to the ground and restraining her.
The charges against her were eventually dropped. Yet there seems to be zero accountability for the officer involved.
What kind of spineless little man would ever feel threatened by a pregnant woman, so much so that he would feel the need to put his hands on her without her consent and wrestle her to the ground after she didn’t give him her name?
And then for a statement to be released by the department defending his action.
It is situations like this, where cops get away with all manner egregious behavior, that cause people to lose any respect they had left for police.