Did An Arizona Police Officer “Brutally Attack” A 15 Year Old Girl During Stop?

Let’s be clear, I am not taking sides, but, does the story hold up? Here’s what we get from Cassandra Rules at The Free Thought Project

A video was uploaded to Facebook on Friday of a Mesa, Arizona police officer repeatedly punching and attacking a 15 year old girl as her mother begged them to stop.

The young girl, who was reportedly a runaway, was screaming that she couldn’t breathe as her mother attempted to explain to the officers that she has mental problems as well as asthma.

Luis Paul Santiago, the witness who filmed the violent encounter stated that police attempted to delete the video, and the second officer on the scene explained that the officer “behaved correctly” and stated that “if she needed to, she could have shot her dead.”

Let’s see that video

Is it just me, or did I miss the punches? I heard both people in the car filming say that they saw the punches. But, the video doesn’t seem to show them. I have replayed it 4 times. Both Raw Story and Addicting Info follow right along, as do all the folks in the comments. What do the police have to say?

A 15-year-old girl punched and kicked a Mesa police officer Friday after the female officer tried to get her attention, police said.

Mesa officers responded to a call Friday afternoon near 86th Street and Broadway, where a mother said her daughter had left their vehicle and was beginning to walk away. The teenager had a history of running away, police said.

According to a police statement, the female officer, whose name has not been released, attempted to stop the girl by reaching for her arm after three attempts to talk to the teen were ignored.

The teen then turned and assaulted the officer by kicking and punching her, police said. The officer then arrested the girl as the fighting continued, police said.

Both the officer and the girl suffered slight injuries, and the girl was voluntarily committed for a psychiatric evaluation.

So, what’s the reality? It seems, especially in light of recent events (some of which shows officers in a bad light, some of which are being falsely spun to show officers in a bad light), that some are more than willing to Blame police officers. But, does the officer deserve the blame in this case?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

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