On January 12th, 2012 a “special needs” homeless woman is punched in the face by a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy. The video was filmed by an Iraqi war veteran. Cops then tried to intimidate the man, telling him he would be arrested if he did not hand over the phone he used to record the incident.
LOS ANGELES – Jermaine Green, an Iraq war veteran, recorded a video of police officers grabbing and punching a woman on a bus in Bellflower, California.
Police asked the woman, who was carrying stroller full of pillows, to get off the bus, according to Green’s account. The officers then grabbed and punched her after she refused. Police demanded that Green hand over the cell phone that he used to record the incident.
“They said get off the bus. She then started cursing at (the female deputy). You could tell she had special needs. After that they grab her, she curses him out, calls him a big shot, next thing you know he gives her a big shot,” Green said.
“I couldn’t believe it. He seen me taping. He looked up at the camera a few times, and he still hit her like that, and I can’t believe he didn’t try to diffuse the situation at all,” Green said.
the Huffington Post – A passenger on a bus recorded a Los Angeles cop punching a woman in the face who apparently hadn’t been violent while the camera rolled.
Jermaine Green, the man who taped the Monday night incident in Bellflower, told NBC LA that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who struck the woman threatened to arrest him if he didn’t hand over his camera phone.
The woman brought a stroller laden with pillows on to the bus and Green described her as having “special needs.” Two deputies allegedly boarded the bus at the next stop and confronted the lady, who began cursing at them, according to Green’s retelling.
His video begins with the woman standing in the aisle and cursing repeatedly. One of the deputies, a woman, grabs her arm.
The audio is unclear, but the woman appears to try to walk past the deputies. The male deputy, who had been holding her wrists, cocks his right arm and throws a right-handed punch that knocks the woman off balance.
The arguing continues as the woman is restrained on a seat. The tape cuts out after more deputies board the bus.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office told LA Weekly that the police accosted the woman, because they’d received a report that said she “almost attacked an elderly man.”
The woman, whose name was not given, has previous arrests, including charges of assaulting a police officer, the spokesman said. He added she had acted aggressively towards the deputies.
The spokesman’s statement said the woman had “mental challenges.”
Officials from Internal Affairs and the Office of Independent Review will investigate, LA Weekly reports.
Sheriff Lee Baca said the deputy who was captured on video striking a woman on a Metro bus will be held accountable for his actions, but stopped short of saying he should be disciplined. As many of you know, Lee Baca has denied allegations of continued beatings and mistreatment of inmates in the Los Angeles County Jail.