This is awful. 34 -year-old Michelle Jordan was brutally body-slammed into the ground during a routine traffic stop. Details below…
Two LAPD police officers are under investigation after they were caught on camera repeatedly body-slamming a woman during a routine traffic stop in Tujunga last Tuesday. Surveillance footage of the incident, first obtained by NBC LA, shows that after the officers pushed her into a cop car and then exchanged what seems to be a congratulatory fist bump.
The woman is Michelle Jordan, a 34-year-old mother and registered nurse from Sunland, Calif. She stepped forward Tuesday to speak out about her experience, and has filed a personal complaint against the officers, reports KTLA.
Sources from within LAPD tell the Los Angeles Times that Jordan was pulled over at a Del Taco restaurant because officers saw her talking on a cellphone while driving.
Officials then claim that Jordan defied the officers’ orders to remain in her car and began challenging them, according to the Times. The officers then arrested her, slamming her body to the ground twice.
Jordan’s lawyer, Arthur Corona, called her a “defenseless woman in a sundress” and questioned why officers chose to use such aggressive means against his client, notes ABC7.
Sy Nafiz, another one of Jordan’s attorneys, said to ABC7, “If anyone on the street attacked an innocent woman, they would be in jail. We expect the LAPD officers to be held to the same standard.”
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck released a statement on the disturbing video and the pending investigation of the two police officers, who for now have been placed on non-field duties.
“My initial review of the officers’ statements and the recorded video cause me to have serious concerns about this Use of Force,” Beck said. “We will investigate this thoroughly and hold our officers accountable for their actions.”
The LAPD is inviting anyone with more information about the case to call Foothill Area Watch Commander at (818) 756-8861 or Internal Affairs Group at (213) 485-1486.
The incident is the third accusation of excessive force by LAPD officers in the past month. On Monday, Deutsche Bank executive Brian Mulligan filed a $50 million lawsuit against the department and alleges two officers held him captive and beat himMay 15.
Ron Weekley Jr., a 20-year-old college student from Venice, Calif., claims officers used excessive force to arrest him Aug. 18. Weekley’s family has retained the services of Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney who also represents the family of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Crump has promised legal action against the LAPD over Weekley’s claims.
via Huffington Post
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