I imagine everybody's already heard about the white cop punching a black girl after a jaywalking stop. After watching the video (available through the link, slo-mo and all), I'm not sure how I feel about it. It appears that one woman was fighting against the officer (after ignoring his command to stop), and when the other woman stepped in and shoved the officer, he punched her. It's shocking, even today, to see a man punch a woman in the face, but at that point the cop had two potential threats on his hands and he was alone. I'm not so sure he was out of line here. It will be interesting to see what comes of the investigation.
Thoughts?
Yeah, in her situation I would expect to be punched in the face and cuffed.
Posted by: Bertrand Le Roy | June 15, 2010 at 10:50 AM
I don't see how that can be considered out of line. It's a pretty simple rule: if you get in a physical altercation with a police officer, don't expect the police officer to back off after you shove him. I understand what you mean about it being a little shocking to see someone hit a girl in the face, but it doesn't matter. She walked up to a cop and shoved him. He hit her. That's a reasonable use of force, in my opinion. He didn't continue to hit her. He didn't seem out of control. He hit her, cuffed her, and put her in the back of the car. What's the other choice? "Sorry, ma'am, I didn't realize you felt so strongly about not being arrested. You're free to go."
Posted by: Terry Bleizeffer | June 16, 2010 at 11:44 AM