Amid the conversation surrounding excessive force and police brutality in the nation, another disturbing video of a police officer attempting to subdue a 15-year-old girl, punching her in the process, has gone viral.
In the video, posted to Facebook Friday by Luis Paul Puleo Santiago, a female police officer can be seen from a distance struggling with a Mesa, Arizona teenager whose name has not yet been released. You can hear Santiago and a woman in the car with him gasp, remarking that the cop “just punched her in the face.”
The 15-year-old teenager, who was described as a runaway by authorities, can be heard telling the officer to stop. At one point she screams “I can’t breathe.”
From ABC15:
Esteban Flores with Mesa police said dispatch received a call from the 15-year-old girl’s mother at around 4:20 p.m. seeking assistance after the daughter had gotten out of the car and walked away.
Police said the girl has a history of running away and that the mother was worried.
Flores said authorities tried three times to convince the girl to stop before a female officer reached for the girl’s arm. Then the teenager, police say, turned around and kicked the officer and punched her in the face.
Flores said at that point the officer then attempted to make an arrest, which involved physical force by the officer.
In the video posted to Facebook, the officer can be seen forcing the girl to the ground. The girl screams hysterically, while the officer works to keep her detained and then put in handcuffs.
During the altercation, Santiago and the woman in his car pull over and exit the vehicle to tell the girl’s mother, who has since approached the scene to engage in an angry exchange with the officer, that the officer did, in fact, punch the teen.
“She punched her in the face, I have it on video,” Santiago says.
The woman responds to Santiago:
“Please be a witness.”
The physical force used against the young girl resulted in minor injuries, which were treated at the scene. Flores said the officer, a 12-year-veteran, was also treated for minor injuries to her face and head.
Later, Santiago took to Facebook to share what he witnessed, adding that officers wanted to delete his video:
The incident is currently under investigation. Aggravated assault charges against the teenager are pending.
SOURCE: Think Progress, ABC15 | PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook | VIDEO SOURCE: YouTube
