The family of a woman who was caught on camera being pummeled by a California Highway Patrol trooper on the side of a highway have spoken out for the first time since the incident, demanding justice for the victim.
‘He punched and pound and pound on her, the only thing she could do was block her face,’ Mayisha Adams, the unnamed victim’s daughter, said Saturday.
The woman had been walking barefoot on eastbound Interstate 10 west of downtown Los Angeles Tuesday before the officer tackled her to the ground.
Struggle: A motorist filmed while the officer climbed on top of the woman and proceeded to punch her
Restrained: A California Highway Patrol officer straddles the woman while punching her in the head
A passing driver videotaped the incident showing the CHP trooper pinning down the woman and repeatedly punching her in the face.
The victim’s family have hired Los Angeles attorney Caree Harper to represent them in the case against the California Highway Patrol.
Harper said her clients want the authorities held accountable for ‘beating a great-grandmother in broad daylight.’
The lawyer declined to disclose the woman’s name or answer questions about what she was doing along the edge of one of the city’s busiest freeways.
‘We want the focus to be what he was doing to her, not what she was doing’ prior to the confrontation, said Harper, who said she is representing the family. ‘She was getting beat like an animal. No one should ever be beat like that.’
The California Highway Patrol has vowed to carry out a thorough investigation – but authorities claimed the trooper in question simply stopped her for her own protection.
CHP Assistant Chief Chris O’Quinn said at a news conference that the woman was endangering herself and people in traffic, and the officer was forced to restrain her.
O’Quinn added that the woman had begun walking off the freeway but returned when the confrontation occurred.
The officer involved has not been identified and has been put on paid administrative leave while the investigation is carried out.
Press conference: CHP Assistant Chief Chris O’Quinn, pictured said the woman had been walking on the highway endangering herself and people in traffic, and the officer was trying to restrain her
h/t – daily
