At first glance, it looked like another case of what the entire world seems to be protesting. A flash of video as two cops wrestle with a lone black woman. Then from out of nowhere, a Baltimore cop sends a devastating right hook into her face, knocking the woman out.
Baltimore Cop Knocks Out Woman After Attacking Officer
The footage went viral, the alleged next in a too-long line of videos showcasing police brutality against African Americans. Only this time it wasn’t. And when the police body cam footage finally came to light, we saw an entirely different story.
Police footage shows the woman first drive erratically through a police checkpoint on the night of May 29. Officers had closed the intersection. But the woman inexplicably makes a U-turn, and appears to swerve toward an officer. That’s when Sgt. Graig Higley drew his gun and ordered the woman out of the vehicle, reported baltimore.cbslocal.com.
Once out of the vehicle, she immediately gets loud and goes on the defensive. “Don’t touch me,” she yells. “I feel attacked.” Then she turns threatening. “If you don’t violate my rights, I won’t violate yours,” she says to Higley.
Footage then shows Higley attempt to take the woman into custody. The lady resists, striking Higley in the face, hard, two times. Finally, Officer Terry Love clearly sees enough of this. He delivers a haymaker from behind that drops the suspect.
Immediately, people nearby gather and grow angry. The crowd grows more intense, giving the feeling they might descend on officers at any minute. Higley says several times to the crowd that the woman hit him first. But while people in the crowd became angry, officials saw the incident differently. The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office issued the following statement:
We have completed a thorough review of this unfortunate incident, and while we strongly disagree with the action the Officer took, it does not rise to the level of illegality. The Officer had other options he could have pursued to de-escalate the situation rather than striking the woman with a closed fist, and we recommend that BPD review this officer’s conduct in the immediate instance, consider his past record of conduct, and take appropriate internal action.
After the amateur video first went viral, City Council President and mayoral candidate Brandon Scott called Love’s action “unacceptable,” reported baltimore.cbslocal.com. Meanwhile, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young called it “deeply disturbing.” However, the police union said the “officer was protecting his colleague from further attack. Escalation only occurred after the female attacker continued the assault.”
Discussion about this post