You read it right, another officer abusing their power and yup you guessed it: the judicial system got their back. A male Los Angeles officer was caught on video beating a mentally ill woman in what he says was an effort to “restrain” her. You have to read more to see the video of this “restraining” yourself and decide if he had the right to do it.
As the year is coming to a close, one would hope that this brutality from officer would come to a rest but with a judicial system almost looking to be “designed” in their favor our hope is becoming practically useless; this HAS to stop. Daniel Andrew was the officer who was seen punching a mentally ill woman on a California highway in July 2014 but now the official decision from the court is in, and he’s off free. According to the LA Times, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced that it would not file criminal charges against a California Highway Patrol officer who was recorded on video repeatedly punching a woman he had pinned to the ground along the 10 Freeway. The victim, Marlene Pinnock, was struck at least 10 times, but the D.A.’s office said, there was “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the force he used was unreasonable or excessive.”
Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey elaborated on the report in a statement.
“When looking at all of the evidence, and especially the medical reports and eyewitness accounts, it becomes exceedingly clear that the officer, who was alone and struggling with Ms. Pinnock precariously close to evening freeway traffic, acted within the law,” Lacey said. “In our analysis, his use of force was legal and necessary to protect not only his own life but also that of Ms. Pinnock.”
Lacey also noted that the officer also had a duty to protect freeway commuters from a potentially dangerous situation had Pinnock gotten away from him and walked onto the freeway.
One of the witnesses is quoted in the report saying, “at a point I agreed with what the cop did … you know, he had to get her. He had to apprehend her. He had to throw her on the floor. The part where it gets deceptive is when he starts punching. That’s when it felt like that it was unnecessary … after the first two, it was, it was, he should have stopped.”
“We believe it came by design,” civil rights activist Najee Ali said of the timing of Lacey’s announcement. “The whole nation’s eyes are on the … tragedy in San Bernardino. The fact she [Lacey] slid this in, the timing is very suspect and it demonstrates cowardice.”
A 42-second clip of the incident, caught on cellphone video by a passing motorist, was posted on YouTube last summer and can be seen below, went viral and sparked outrage, but apparently not enough for justice. What do you guys think, was the officer right or wrong for this?
Source: KTLA
