A viral video shows a Southern California police officer body-slamming a partially shackled 17-year-old student, knocking her face-first onto the pavement.
Erin, the adolescent at the centre of the event, spoke up during a press conference on Sunday, accompanied by family and community members.
“I am just in a lot of agony. I’m hurt all over, including my head and body. “I’m not the same person I was,” Erin stated during the press conference.
“I will take her to the hospital again today. She’s still complaining about how much her face, head, wrist, legs, and back hurt. Tanya Brownridge, Erin’s mother, stated simply, “Let’s get justice for my baby.”
On May 21, about 2 p.m., San Bernardino police responded to a grocery store in the 500 block of West 2nd Street for a report of someone trespassing and attempting to fight. When authorities came, they put the 17-year-old into custody.
A video shows an officer holding the teenager before body slamming her to the ground.
“I’m not okay because that grown man knocked my baby out cold,” said Erin’s grandma, Rhonda Taylor. “You could see the blood by the police car, where it had broken her chin open. It’s not okay. She is a baby. She is a baby. It’s not okay.
Erin and her family claim she and her pals were doing nothing illegal when another group of youngsters attacked them in the store without warning. They claim cops targeted Erin and treated her as if she had done something wrong.
Erin claims she was bodyslammed face first. She has a cut on her chin and a big scrape on the side of her face.
“During the physical confrontation, the officer was attempting to place the female in handcuffs. The officer was only able to secure one of her hands in cuffs when she began actively pushing away and attempted to walk away from the officer when a takedown manoeuvre was used, according to a statement released on social media by the San Bernardino Police Department.
“The San Bernardino Police Department is dedicated to providing unbiased and responsible policing. The use of force is based on behaviour, not age, gender, or ethnicity,” the statement added.
Erin’s family is demanding justice and has requested that Attorney General Rob Bonta conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
“I simply want justice for my baby. She did not accomplish anything. The fact that I had to drive two hours — they let her bleed for three hours at the hospital before stitching her up,” Brownridge explained. “They told us three distinct stories: one about me, one about my mother, and one about my sister. “All I want is justice.”
Reference: Viral video shows officer body-slam teenage girl during arrest in Southern California
