Re: Cop punches girl in the face, recent video
I would like to know what happened up to this point.
As for the actions of the woman, she was interfering by grabbing at the officers collar. She was obviously keeping him from doing his job.
For the officer, I think that his back up should have handled her. That is why HE is there. However, since back up did not do his job, I would say that the officer was well within his "continuum of force". We in Oregon no longer have that continuum of force, we are trained to apply our skills to the situation at hand. THIS IS TO THE POINT WHERE HE STRUCK HER TO GET HER OFF OF HIM ONLY!
At this point, I would say that he handled himself accordingly.
Now, to the punch in the face. Back up decided to help now and had placed a hold on her. Officer 1 then jumped the line and punched her in the face. Was it out of line? A little (or a lot if you are defending the woman). If that was my officer and I received the video, would I write him up for Excessive Use of Force? Not likely, but we would have a strong talk about it.
I will ask and answer two questions:
1. Did she deserve it? Hell yes
2. Was there and alternative to the punch in the face? Hell yes
Tazer is an option, but not one I would have used. As for OC Spray, I think I may have employed this for the following reasons.
1. I can and have fought through OC Spray and I know how it affects me and my partner (<- discussed in SHTF scenarios and trainings before the situation arises)
2. The OC Spray would have cleared a LOT of those people away making MY job easier to do.
As for her yelling "HELP ME", hell no. She not only interfered willingly and knowingly, but then she struck at the officer. At that point, she gave up ANY assistance she deserved.
As for the officer, yeah, he went overboard. But, how long was he on the force? How long had he been on the road? I would hazard a guess and say not very long.
As for "cop bashing", we have a hard job, and people don't like us when we do our job, making our jobs that much harder and more dangerous.
I would utilize this (as a supervisor) as a training experience for the young officer.
NOW, Was this faked? Not sure. There are a few things that make me say it was.
1. When she rolled over, she placed her hand in the proper position to be cuffed.
2. When the officer is cuffing her, he looked at and used his cuffs as if they were totally foreign to him.
Really though? This is a VERY EXTREMELY WELL PLANNED fake. Tons of participants and a lot of gear that says they are in fact cops.