Community | January 12, 2012 | 24 comments

L.A. deputy punches special needs woman

source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/12/l-a-deputy-punches-special-needs-woman/

KB723
By David Edwards
Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating one of their own officers after video surfaced showing him punching a special needs woman in the face.

Passenger Jermaine Green, who recorded the incident on his cell phone, said that 42-year-old Julie Nelson had been polite before two deputies tried to remove her from the bus.

“They said get off the bus,” Green recalled to NBC’s Los Angeles affiliate. “She then started cursing at (the female deputy). You could tell she had special needs. After that they grab her, she curses him out, calls him a big shot, next thing you know he gives her a big shot.”

In a 911 call released Wednesday, a caller said Nelson had threatened to “beat up” other passengers. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said she also had a four convictions of violence against police officers.

Nelson, who is homeless and known to be living behind a CVS Pharmacy, was taken into custody on a 72-hour psychiatric hold without being arrested.

At a press conference Wednesday, Sheriff Lee Baca admitted that the video was “disturbing.”

“If the deputy who swung an elbow at the lady is looking at that as a sensible solution, we need to retrain that individual and hold him accountable,” he explained.

Childhood friends of Nelson told NBC L.A. that she had a history of mental problems, but had not been taking her medication.

“We’re going to take her and put her somewhere safe, same thing we always do, feed her, help her out, we love her,” one friend said.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/12/l-a-deputy-punches-special-needs-woman/

Watch the video below from NBC L.A., broadcast Jan. 11, 2012.

"Man, that was uncool and uncalled for!!!!"
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    Community,   Culture,   WTF,   Current Tonight,   24 more
  2. tags:
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24 comments // L.A. deputy punches special needs woman

  • thinkingfree
    • +1
      thinkingfree  

    • Just one more of the most dangerous people on the face of the earth. A person with a badge and a gun. The only payback being that when they retire they can't handle the loss of control over others and eat their guns.

    • 4 months ago
  • circlesquared
  • KB723
  • jim_b
  • nardo1224
    • +1
      nardo1224  

    • Police believe they have carte blanche to beat people whenever the mood hits them. There once was a time in this country when almost the entire nation hated police and declared war on them. They would get attacked by mobs of people and it took a nationwide campaign to get pepole to trust and respect them. I believe we are heading for another "fuck the police" attitude and it may be worse that before!

    • 4 months ago
  • Lisayou
  • KB723
  • Lisayou
  • KB723
  • joeredford
    • +1
      joeredford [removed]  

    • I hope she doesn't have to stay in whatever hospital they put her. Having once worked in these places, I can tell you that a lot of psychiatric aides are no less violent than this guy and take out their frustrations on mental patients EVERY day. What happens? Nothing, it's shoved under the day room rug.

    • 5 months ago
  • cherry5000
  • jimstoner
    • +2
      jimstoner  

    • Watch and see if absolutely nothing is done about this officers obvious assault on this woman. In fact, in some jurisdictions, the man with the cell phone camera would be in a pickle.

    • 5 months ago
  • rerushg
    • +2
      rerushg  

    • Fire him. Period. We've seen the video. There are no extenuating circumstances. She made no attempt to use force against them. It's no more complicated than that.
      What? Cop's got a wife? Got kids? Sorry about that. Should have thought about that beforehand. Bam... you're outta here.
      It HAS to be that way. If not it just gets worse. What we're seeing is governance that refuses to deal with it's social issues and gives the police force an impossible situation to manage on the street. As long as politicians can rely on cops to "handle it" then let them off the hook nothing ever improves.

    • 5 months ago
  • KB723
  • Leen61
    • +1
      Leen61  

    • When someone has mental illness, this is not how you treat them. They should've just left her alone. There was no reason she had to get off the bus. What a bunch of bullies picking on someone who has special needs. As the old saying goes...."pick on someone your own size."

    • 5 months ago
  • KB723
  • Leen61
  • KB723
  • Leen61
  • cabinettags
    • +2
      cabinettags  

    • Don't know what this girl was saying, although she sure looked emphatic about it. I can't hear the audio, if there is one, but she looked at tad loud as well. So my take is here you have an unruly woman with two officers in attendance. If the rhetoric was that bad, and that loud, I can understand why they'd cuff her and give her a ride to jail. Preserving the peace is one of their functions. Of course, people DO lose their tempers, but this is unacceptable behavior for an officer. They're supposed to be "in charge" and professional. She may have deserved a shot in the mouth, but it's not his place to deliver it. Rather, he should have run her in and kept his temper in check. This kind of behavior gives all officers a bad name.

    • 5 months ago
  • KB723
  • noxidereus
  • KB723
  • KB723
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