Momzilla
Badass/PTA Mom
Shocking body cam footage shows moment cops throw handcuffed eight-months pregnant black woman to the ground
video link
It's crazy to me that the police went to such an extreme with a pregnant woman- who hadn't even committed a crime! Just disgusting!!!
video link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...espite-committing-no-crime.html#ixzz3bSEAm7vt
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- Charlena Cooks of Barstow, California was eight months pregnant when she and an employee at her daughter's school got in a 'petty' argument
- The employee called police after the two women fought in the school parking lot, who said no charges could be filed
- They then asked Cooks to give them her name, something they did not ask the employee, and grew agitated as she refused
- Two officers then pulled her arms around her back and shoved her to the ground to cuff her
- She can be heard screaming on the body cam the entire time that she is pregnant
- Charges against her were ultimately dropped, but the Barstow Police Department stands behind their actions
Charlena Cooks of Barstow, California was dropping her second grade daughter off at school in January when a traffic incident led to an argument between her and a school employee ...
Cooks told the officers that the entire incident had been blown out of proportion, and that the altercation was 'petty.'
Unlike with the employee, a white woman, the officer cuts off Cooks as she is telling her side of the story and demands identification, something he did not do with the other woman.
He also says that Cooks has two minutes to give him her name.
At this point, Cooks says she wants to see if she has to give the officer her name, and goes to call her boyfriend and ask.
Less than 30 seconds pass before the officer, and another cop, grabs Cooks arms and start putting them behind her back.
The woman, still in the school parking lot, begins loudly screaming that she is pregnant and to let her go.
That is when she is thrown to the ground and cuffed by the men, who then demand she stand up and stop resisting arrest.
It is not illegal in California to withhold identification if an individual has not been charged with a crime.
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'I never saw that coming. I told him I was pregnant so he could proceed with caution. That didn't happen and the first thing I thought was I didn't want to fall to the ground. I felt the pressure on my stomach from falling and I was calling for help. But those guys are supposed to help me. But who is supposed to help me when they are attacking me?'
Cooks was then charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer or other public safety official, a charge that was eventually dismissed.
Meanwhile, after the ACLU released video of the arrest, the Barstow Police Department defended their officers' actions.
'The Barstow Police Department continues to be proactive in training its officers to assess and handle interactions with emotionally charged individuals while conducting an investigation, for the protection of everyone involved,' they said in a statement.
Cooks, who was eight months pregnant, went on to have her baby in March.
The baby was born healthy but it still being monitored by doctors.
[...]
It's crazy to me that the police went to such an extreme with a pregnant woman- who hadn't even committed a crime! Just disgusting!!!