Video Captures Cop Slamming Girl To Ground

Ouch

This is standard operating procedure for NHPD anyone who spends time downtown sees it every weekend.

This why I wear puffy clothes and hide my knife in my vagina.

By the stance of her legs and her trying to drop her center of gravity the officer was justified by taking her to ground. It's not like she was walking peacefully to the sidewalk after being arrested and then he threw her on the ground. She was arrested, she failed to comply peacefully and that was the result. Don't resist arrest on concrete or asphalt it will never work out well for you.
If the issue is whether or not she should've been detained in the first place is inconsequential in the action of the officer AFTER she was detained. I was detained by a NHPD officer (handcuffs and all)due to a misunderstanding. I complied with what he said. I calmly stated my version. I was let go by the officer because of the way I conducted myself with a promise to appear. I then went before the judge and stated my case and the charges were dropped. If I put up as much resistance when the officer was trying to get me in that nice white NYPD van he would've put my face in the pavement too, and he would have been justified in doing so. Worst part would have been when I went before the judge I would have been cleared of the incident but probably would've bought myself new charges that would have stuck. It's unfortunate that the us-vs-them attitude against the police, that has been so popular lately, has encouraged non-compliance with lawful requests from police just trying to maintain order and return to their families safe at the end of the day.

This appears to be HIGHLY unnecessary. The number of Police Officers in the very near vicinity is obvious by the minimum amount of time it took several of them to arrive once this child was thrown to the ground.

If this grown man could not have handled this girl, whom he clearly outweighs by 100lbs or more, the opportunity to call for help was in mere shouting distances.

The strong arm tactics of our police force is out of hand. From unnecessary physical tactics, as shown here, to the militarization of complete departments, with the acquisition of weapons fit only for war efforts which are in no way comparable to what takes place in the streets of our cities, but which apparently invade the minds of those who are employed to protect, not attack its citizenry .

Nothing like jumping to conclusions from a video which just happened to get turned on 2 seconds before the girl is slammed to the ground. I'm sure the good hearted videographer could not possibly have edited the video so it didn't show what she did prior to being tossed.

@mikewestpark: Are you kidding me? This is a 15 year old child. The police officer had no reason to slam her into the ground. He was wrong and he should be fired. It's odd that the other day I read a story about a police officer trying to teach de-escalation to the department. I guess this guy didn't take the class. He is a thug, it's that simple. A good police officer, would have realized that he was dealing with a child and would have exercised a bit more self control and restraint.

Oh wait. I thought New Haven is "the antidote to Ferguson." I'm so confused now.

Ok, everyone is saying she's a 15yro female, so if it was a male would it be ok? No, but let's be real the 15/16 yrs olds are the ones disrupting the community. Clearly she was resisting arrest & the way the officer got her to the ground is not illegal. She just happen to hit her face on a snow bank. These kids turn every positive event negative. She was carrying a knife because she was so called scared yea ok, I'm sure she had her fair share of junk talking to the other girls also so I'm not buying that victim role. What if things would have gotten out of hand & she cut the girl then got charged with a more serious crime, then what? It would be her mothers fault for tellig her to carry a weapon. Like c'mon we as females all been there with the knit picking in school, the junk talking, you fight and get it over with. She was probably trying to put on a scene thinking she was big n bad for being arrested & was going to brag the next day at school bc for some odd reason kids think stuff like that is cool, but it's foolish, instead the cop took her down to the ground & she was embarrassed. Who wants a juvenile record, she'll regret it when she gets older. Her mom is only going so hard bc her daughter got caught & charged with possession of a knife.

Perfect venue and situation for a riot. Absolute ridiculous behavior once again from another NHPD tough guy jacked up on adrenaline. There is no plausible explanation that officer can give and he should be terminated immediately. Unfortunately this is standard operating procedure for all Downtown cops. Anyone who is not a Yalie, business owner or out of town shopper is treated like this during any police interaction that they respond to all hyped-up like Marines on a combat mission. Send him to the unemployment line with the rest of the bullies and criminals like Ms Poindexter

Yes Mrs.Boyd this is difficult to view as a parent and i'm sure you advised your daughter on what to do if she had a encounter with police. this is what aclu advises;
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES if arrested

• Do stay calm and be polite.
  
• Do not interfere with or obstruct the police.
  
• Do not lie or give false documents.
  
• Do prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested.
  
• Do remember the details of the encounter.
  
• Do file a written complaint or call your local ACLU if you feel your rights have been violated.
  the fact that this child is 15 is irreverent to her actions this video shows after being handcuffed which would leave a reasonable person to believe that one is under arrest that any movement, attempt to leave or move from where a officer has you is a attempt to flee handcuffed or not. The take-down not only is legal but used quite frequently by law enforcement. The fact that injury was sustained by the young lady would be after effects of a bad choice made by the young lady. There is a time and place to contest ones arrest and on a city street during the arrest is not the time. Lets not forget that juvenile arrest is confidential any placing of this information out in the public does not benefit the 15 year old at all. The filming of this incident will benefit the investigation. The trend seems to be to resit arrest which has lead to deadly encounters throughout the United States. The hope is that a proper investigation will produce the results that will allow this child to move forward with her life.

Looks normal. Any sensible person knows that you the courts and not the streets are where you 'fight for your rights' in anything from a speeding ticket to an arrest for being disorderly.

It's pretty obvious the girl is struggling to get away as the cop is restraining her. She is totally in the wrong. No doubt it will be another big settlement for the city though.

1st off I was a child once and I never acted like that. Why was she in handcuffs?? Why was she resisting?? I've been seeing these brutal girl fight videos go viral through social media and they are horrible to watch. These cops are ORDERED to come to work on St. Patty's day and deal with assaults, fights, shootings, sexual complaints, robberies, drunks, etc., and we are worried about a slam to the ground while this saint of a teen was resisting, sad. Samuel you are a weight expert from the video you saw??? And last time I checked the officer was briefly alone... So you wanted five cops to hold her down to the ground??? All the cop haters are coming out to critique something they know nothing about, pathetic. No one here is commenting about the shooting???? Why not??? because when a black man gets shot inside a club is not news to most of you, it's normal in this society. Remember most of you critique a profession you would not dare do and most of you think your experts, but your not, just agitators who protect the criminals. Remember these officers were ORDERED to be at that parade.

The grandmother's account of the events leading to the young lady finding herself on the ground are disputed by the video. She claims that after failing to promptly answer the officer's questions, the teen was escorted outside and then slammed to the ground for continuing to delay responding to the officer. If that's how it happened, when did those cuffs go on? The grandmother's story makes it seem like an angry cop skipped all protocol and exacted revenge on an innocent child because he was angry that she sassed him. This type of exaggeration casts doubt on everything else that is said and makes me wonder why grandma isn't telling things straight.

It appears that once the police walk out of their offices and cars and hit the streets of New Haven they are immediately high on adrenaline, ego, machismo, god-complex and every other form of braggadocio that exists. It must be a small mind that feels BIG because he slammed a skinny 15-year-old girl to the ground and cause her physical harm. Maybe he will be among the officers getting awards for their brave take-downs in the community. What about de-escalation? It is far more skillful to get a teen-- who might be acting like a punk -- to acquiesce and follow orders than to show off manly prowess by slamming her to the ground; any big punk or thug with a badge and gun can do that.

Interestingly, police arrest parents who use corporal punishment to discipline their kids, but police officers beat up people (adults and youngsters) all the time and think they have a right to do so. There are also those citizens, such as some commenting in this article, who think that unless people immediately acquiesce to police commands it is fine to brutalize them. This is particularly true when the person being harassed or arrested is Black or Latino. Many white police officers walk around with an air of entitlement; they want to work in poor minority communities because in those communities they feel like gods and they can do whatever they want; in the affluent suburbs they cannot push people around; they are there in service to the people.

We wonder why many people in minority communities have no respect for the police; how can anyone respect those who behave like thugs; especially when there is so much evidence that some police officers lie, cheat and frame people? Start behaving with pride and dignity; talk to young people and community residents with respect and with self-restraint; demonstrate the behavior you want to see from them and you might be pleasantly surprised.

HEWNAVEN and WENDY1 FTW,

Although, to paraphrase Woody Allen, WENDY1 just halved her chance for a date on Saturday night.

I find it absolutely amazing and sickening that people are actually on this site arguing in favor of a grown man throwing a child to the ground.

With the presence of other officers so near, this is CLEARLY unnecessary.

The CHILD could have been restrained without this gratuitous aggression.

The Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

OMG! I was in bww when that girl was in there !!! Her and her sister was in there waiting to be seated when a large group of guys and chicks came talking really loud. The girl in the blue northface told that girl in the video to "move, move; call mommy" When they was walking away the girl from the large group pulled the girl in the north face down to the ground by her hair. The one from the video stood there on the phone. I joked with my homegirl "fuk calling mommy; tag them bithes 1 by 1" When she was cuffed and walked out she was calm & crying. I watched the rest from my window seat in total disbelief. I was more disappointed the grown ass workers at bww didn't intervene. But girl why you ain't pull that knife when them girls was on your sister !!! Stab and call mommy later is my advice. Lol. I just didn't see the resisting if she's already cuffed... But I just paid a decent amount of money for my glasses and prescription so I may not see the resisting you see.

What is shocking is not on the video, but how many people are prepared to render judgement on the basis of a few seconds of action with no context before or after.

This video seems to be missing a lot of the facts .news media like WTNH 8 are running with the video to get ratings. If NHI wants the facts FOI the report because their seems to be information out there that this child might have maced a employee at Buffalo Wild Wings and also had a knife on her. Seems to explain why she was trying to get away from the police officer. The truth shall set you free!!

[Ed: We asked for details on the incident. The department refuses to provide any.]

They slammed her to the ground because she refused to answer questions? Come on, that sounds pretty ridiculous to me. Also, if this woman was the victim here, as her family claims, why would she refuse to identify herself to police?

You'll have to excuse me if I question the intentions of the cameraman who edits out everything except 2 seconds before the suspect is taken down.

Also, the cameraman's statement "I don't know what happened, but that s is fed up" pretty much tells me his perspective on the story. No matter what she did, the cop must be in the wrong, according to this knucklehead.

Good call by the Officer who VERY clearly holds up the knife for everyone to see. CYA.

Completely Justified. She was carrying a weapon to a parade... Everyone knows when there is one weapon, chances are there is two. Why should the officer jeopardize his/her life for a non compliant criminal. There was no use if force here, just a standard take down a wait for assistance. No punches, no kicking. We need to stop defending criminals and start supporting the positive members of our community. Let's investigate and interview the kids who made the honor roll and put them on video!

Why can't people just submit when arrested? It seems these police controversies involved people who physically resisted the officer. And PS - what was she doing armed with knife?? Her family should be more concerned about that than rushing to a lawyer to see if they can get any money out of this.

i cant believe the comments here- blaming a handcuffed 15 year old girl who gets taken down, judo style, face first into the pavement unable to break her fall. Totally unnecessary and callousness once again toward black life.
NHI commentary often shows more concern and passion over bike lanes, dogs and pedestrians than about the racism prevalent in the city. Disgusting.

To all the people who think this police officer's behavior was justified, there is no evidence to support this. First there is the very basic and fundamental fact that this is a 15 year old child, she was not resisting arrest, her hands were behind her back. I suppose one could conclude that a take down is necessary if a suspect is non compliant. Okay, but again, this is not an adult suspect, this is a 15 year old child. Was she being non-compliant? Perhaps, but so what. She is a teenager, she was probably frightened and angry. What the situation needed was for an assertive adult to explain to her what was happening and how her cooperation would effect a speedy resolution. What the situation did not need was for some thug in a uniform to slam her to the ground.
She had a knife in her purse, NOT on her person, therefore this is not probable cause to escalate the situation with violence. In fact it is a prime example of how cops justify brutality with after the fact findings.
The fact that these officers were ordered to be at the parade does not excuse this violence, they signed up for the job and I'm sure they got some nice overtime for the parade, they should be professionals and remember that they are public servants.
It is horrifying that so many people defend what this man did to this girl.
Oh and not all orders from the police are lawful, there are a myriad of examples of police officers violating constitutional rights. What this officer did was not lawful and I hope that the family sues. It would be nice if they could press assault charges too.

This is just another example of a mother (in this case grandmother) who holds an "important" position in the community and is using that position to cry police brutality. Where have we seen this recently before? "Yale students father wants apology after his son is legally stopped." This girl had a knife! Was involved in a fight! And was resisting! This "young, innocent 15 y.o. girl" was also accused of masing people in the restaurant. She was perfectly capible of using the knife to stab the officer. DOES NOT matter how old she is, or whether she was in handcuffs. A person in handcuffs can still kill you. Stop the ignorance people. What's really the difference whether she had a knife or a gun? She has the potential to kill you. Stop the ignorance people. Hopefully this girls mother or grandmother doesn't hold their breath for an apology like the Yale students father did.

Why is it I wonder how the police would have handled a white female Yale student in the same circumstances?

posted by: Nathan on March 19, 2015 1:09am

"What is shocking is not on the video, but how many people are prepared to render judgement on the basis of a few seconds of action with no context before or after."

I'm 100% with you on that Nathan, both sides should be ashamed for making judgements on the very very short video.

Samuel and Atwater she was to resisting and it's clearly seen, what's not clearly seen is the entire incident. All you guys are seeing is one side and hearing one side and making judgements from your iPhones or laptops. Apply for the NHPD and come work at St. Patty's day. And like I said prior, lately there have been many posted videos through social media of young girls beating the crap out if each other, but that's okay right just like the young man who got shot on St. Patty's day that you don't seem to care about.

Two things,
1- why is a 15 year old girl at a sports bar without a parent, and if the parent was there, why was the "child" not parented out of this fight?
2- just monday a 15 year old new haven "child" brutally killed a father of three unprovoked, if he'd been knocked to the ground by a cop, that father would still be alive.
it's not a black or white thing, its a law and order thing.

Everybody is talking about look at the facts,or as James Brown would say. "look at the case man, look at the case!" The fact is a 15 year old scared girl in handcuffs got thrown to a concrete pavement by a grown ass trained Officer of the Law,surrounded by his fellow Officers of the Law and in no personal danger. Whatever excuse this Officer offers will be insufficient,and all of you agreeing with this tactic are guilty by association.

To Samuel and Atwater; who do you think commits many crimes such as; assaults (knock-out punch), robberies, throughout the city like a bunch of piranas? Sad to say, but it's the young 14 thru 17 year old teens throughout the city. They don't care about authority, Yale students, they don't respect adults, teachers, elderly, and probably family. Atwater, someone in cuffs although less dangerous, can still be dangerous and for the officer to have full advantage and control the officer takes the detainee to the ground PERIOD, it will prevent further nonsense. Stop judging on something you know nada about.

@dwightstreeter: Come on, how many white female Yale students come to a St. Pat's parade armed with a knife, act up, and then resist arrest? It's not Yale students - black, white, or purple - who are shooting, stabbing, and killing every week in New Haven. In fact, Yale students are more often the victims of crime in New Haven, an example being the recent street robberies of Yale students by black men. Let's just deal with the facts here and not attribute racism to a cop where it isn't justified. That does nothing but create totally unnecessary racial division and disrespect for police officers.

@trustme: You're correct, an adult who is resisting arrest might need to get taken to the ground. But, this is not an adult we are talking about. We are talking about a 15 year old girl. If the cops cannot control her without such violence then they are bad at their job and should not be on the street.

And yes, a lot of violent acts are committed by teenagers, but that does not permit police officers to treat each and every teen ager they encounter as if they are vicious criminals. Again, their inability or unwillingness to differentiate and modify their behavior is further proof that they are not up to the task of policing our community.

This is all common sense. Our police officers serve us, they are not above the law and they cannot operate outside of it. Which is what happened here. It is the police officers job to react to emotional and chaotic scenes calmly without emotion (including anger). This officer reacted violently because he was angry that the girl wasn't listening to him. Boo hoo. Suck it up, do your job, give her the summons and let her go.

Lumpkin you sound like a person who is extremely comfortable in your physical skills, if so??? Join the NHPD and do a better job. But you won't, you would rather Monday quarterback police because that has been the cool thing to do lately. And by your comment your not pro police, your pro crime. When the heck in that video did you see the officer surrounded by police, maybe afterward the Calvary did arrive. If this perfect saint of a teen was not inside a bar with a knife, spraying people with mace, fighting, acting disorderly, and resisting arrest, that cop would've not been called and would've stayed on his post and waiting for the filled fighting St. Patty's day to end so he can go home to his family.

Samuel T. Ross-Lee, I'm shocked to see people arguing that the police are in the wrong for restraining an armed criminal.

Actually, that's a lie, I'm not shocked.

I think the people holding rallies to stop violence in the community and the people holding rallies to protest the cops stopping people who are committing violence in the community need to have a sit down and figure out what they want to do.

Wikus Van De Merwe, I'm shocked that you can't tell, or are not interested in seeing the difference between stopping violence and proper police procedure. it's pretty obvious, to use your words, that you have another axe to grind.

Atwater, there is more to this video that we are not seeing. Many other videos are out there. And from what I saw from another video, she was resisting with her feet and moving her shoulders. So what should the officer do for her to stop resisting??? Use his body and pressed it against her toward the parked vehicle, no because most would've critiqued that move as well. Maybe talk really really nice as she's yelling at you, yeah yeah that would definitely work(not). All I read is critics, but no answers. This teen could've hurt this cop, but no one never seems to care about the safety of police, because that's what he gets paid to do, especially during a violent day like this past Sunday. Mom sees a pay check for her own horrible parenting skills and most of you are eating it up, because in today's society the police is always wrong for everything before the investigation is even concluded. She's only 15? I was 15 and I did stupid crap, but nothing close to this.

@Trustme: She was resisting with her feet and moving her shoulders? Or, she was just acting like a frightened agitated person might act right after they were in a violent confrontation and is now being man handled by the police? I tend to think it was the latter. Even if it were the former, there are several things that this officer could've done, other than slam her to the ground. He could of had her sit down on the curb or in the patrol car, or on a bench. He could've just held her against the car until back-up arrived or until the girl calmed down. Was she yelling at the cop? Who cares, he is a trained police officer, he should be able to withstand being yelled at by a teenager. The knife they found, was found not on her person but on her purse. If you watch the video you can see the tackler being handed the knife by another cop. This is a classic tactic used by the police to justify their brutality. "Look I found a knife, she deserved this." It's a red herring. Yes, she had a knife in her purse, but she didn't try to use it against the police and according to the article she didn't try to use it in the restaurant.
The police aren't always wrong, but in this case, this police officer was wrong. He is lucky she didn't sustain more serious injuries. Yes, she's 15 and 15 year olds sometimes act erratically and without thinking. But, again, this does not give the police a right to respond the way they did. Police officers are supposed to be more mature, measured and capable at making rational decisions than 15 year old teenagers. At least I hope they are.

Regardless of the full story behind this specific incident, perhaps the police should begin to question why a good deal of the public will automatically assume they purposely and maliciously would slam a 15 year old girl to the ground

Sorry i disagree with you Atwater, if she was a scared teen, she would not have been acting the way she did. A 15 year old stabbed a man to death in Stamford less than a week ago for spilled coffee, several teen girls robbed and used a stun-gun on a couple of Yale students in the Dwight st area a year ago, and don't forget about the teens constantly beating up innocent people throughout the city, like playing the knockout game. Stop defending people/teens who commit crimes. Police have become this city's punching bag. No one is ever wrong, but the cops are. Let's defend the teen but completely forget what she did and how she acted.

Wikus if these teens would stop acting violent there would be nothing to talk about.

TheMadcap,

You nailed it. Whether she's at fault or not, why are most of us so quick to hold the cops accountable? If cops are just innocent players performing a job, why do they have such a perception problem?

@madcap: Prior to this arrest this girl was attacked, per the article and a witness that commented earlier. This girl was also being stalked by her attacker, per the article and per her relatives. Given this information, the police officers had no reason to believe that she was a threat to them or to the general public. She was not flailing or trying to kick them (she was cuffed with hands behind her back so she couldn't hit them). All of these behaviors indicate someone who is not aggressive, her slowing down or moving her shoulders indicate someone who is basically agitated and frightened, i.e. defensive. This is basic psychology.

Also, I am really disturbed that, because of acts of violence, by other teenagers, you are dismissing the idea that this cop acted incorrectly. Yep, some teenagers are violent against the police. This one wasn't, period. Am I defending teens who commit crimes? No, that's laughable, what I am defending is a citizens right to be free from police brutality.

I showed this video to two co workers, both live in central CT, no particular ax to grind in New Haven. One, the spouse of a state trooper who usually sides with the police. The other, a psychologist-counselor who is more sympathetic to those on the receiving end of handcuffs and take downs. They both agreed that, per what you could see in the video, the use of force was excessive. And I agree with them. She was outmanned, in cuffs, and basically pinned against a car. At least 2 other police were within several strides. There had to have been a better, less violent way to subdue and de-escalate.

eliantonio, it's a restaurant, too. Unaccompanied minors are not legally allowed in the bar area, which is on the opposite side from the front door and separated. Sounds like there was plenty of bad behavior from those involved, but a 15 year old going to a wings joint with friends is not, by itself, a problem. You will see the same thing in the malls, too.

Of course, none of that excuses the behavior described by a witness, nor does it answer the question of whether the take-down was in accordance with training and procedures, and even if so, whether it was prudent.

If she wants to act tough and challenge and resist the officer and behave like a criminal there you go little girl so you're grown enough for the consequences grow up

Wikus van de Merwe,

This CHILD was CLEARLY already "restrained" BEFORE this cop slammed her to the ground.

And the fact that she had a knife on her person does not make her an "armed criminal".

The overreacting of a cop who was in shouting distance of SEVERAL other cops is not justified by your description of her. If he cannot handle arresting a CHILD whom he clearly outweighs without this kind of violence, he is not qualified to be a police officer here or anywhere else.

The Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee
New Haven, CT

Keep defending those who don't obey the law Rev and blame the police for everything that goes wrong. It's all the cops fault and this poor saint of a CHILD is innocent. Like I said prior a 15 year old child stabbed someone to death last week in Stamford. Oh it's the victims fault for spilling the coffee, or no it's the police's fault for not being there when the crime was committed. Give me a break, you should be criticizing her parents for allowing her to have no respect and behaving the way she does. That's pathetic.

As long as you keep making excuses for them they'll keep giving you the opportunity.

Is a person assaulted/robbed/murdered by a CHILD any less assaulted/robbed/murdered? I'm sure what relevance you think that should have, other than playing to emotions (which typically is the move of someone with a weak argument).

So Trustme and Wilkus you think that if one (or two or three) people of a certain demographic commit a crime, then all other people of that demographic should be treated according to the acts of others? To me this sounds prejudicial and unconstitutional. It is not the way our police officers should think either.

In the instant case, per the article, this young woman was not threatening anyone with the knife, it was found in her purse after the altercation. Also, per the article, this young woman was being stalked and harassed by the other young woman who attacked her. Your constant refusal to speak to the facts, as laid out in the article, smacks of arrogance, or perhaps ignorance. There was no robbery in this case, there was no actual assault, at least on this woman's part. There was a fight. But that's a lot different than a deliberate and pre-mediated assault. There was no real resisting either, despite what you might think, one cannot determine plausible resistance simply due to the way one might position their shoulders or move their feet. And, if there was some inclination from the arresting officer that this person was resisting then he could have, easily, taken less violent and drastic steps to prevent it. Anyone could easily conclude that the police officer did not have any reason to fear for his safety or the safety of the public. This child was handcuffed and pinned against a car, where she could've remained until sufficient back-up arrived or until she calmed down. But, this has all been said before.
And as for playing on emotions, it seems your argument is more so based than the contrary argument. If not more so than just as much. Accept you use the emotions of fear, anger and prejudice. Not all 15 year olds are murders, not all 15 year old who get into fights with other teenagers are murders. Not all teenagers pose an imminent risk to public safety.

Being prejudice against teens, are you serious??? Like I said before, I was 15 once and I respected my teachers, elders, authority, and family, I never acted like that because my father taught me the right way and he would've punished me.

Seeing the 2nd video, it's clear to see that this TEEN was resisting. It has been the cool thing to do across this country lately to critique at the police and stick up for the criminals. Atwater you should join the police force, because you sound like you would make a fantastic cop.

If you're leading with a strawman, I'm not going to bother reading the rest of your baseless accusations.

I think it is quite telling that the defenders of the aggressive police behavior shown in THIS video keep reaching for justification based on behavior that has nothing to do with this video.

So, another 15 year old committed a violent act in Stamford, you claim. What has that to do with THIS incident, except it fits neatly into the bigoted notion that "they are all alike" and should be treated according to those prejudiced misconception whether the individual situation warrents behavior such as this or not.

We can't even be sure that this CHILD has committed a crime, except we assume that everyone arrested is guilty of something, other than the fact that cops are neither judges nor juries, and street arrest are not trials.

So, stripped of those borrowed violatiins and prejudice notions, what are we left with: A CHILD in handcuffs, clearly under the physical contol of one male cop with several others wthin shouting distance, if not closer, being slammed unnecessarily to the ground.

Yeah, you're right Wikus van de Merwe, I am appealing to emotions. I make no defense of or apology for that fact. For, if we as fully developed human beings cannot react emotionally to the fact that our police feel that it is necessary to treat a CHILD in handcuffs this way, the. We can never bring an intelligent critique to the distrust that has grorwn and is ever growing between the police and the public.

The Rev. Mr. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Well said Rev. Ross.

Trustme: The video above is sufficient for any reasonable person to conclude that this girl was already subdued by the officer, prior to the body slam. And, you are being prejudice against teens if you think that the actions of a few bad ones warrant violent reactions to all of teens suspected of wrong doing. You were a well behaved teen? Good for you. What does that have to do with a police man brutality slamming a 15 year old girl to the ground? By your logic someone who is merely perceived as rude by the police deserves to be brutalized by them?
As the Reverend mentioned, this teen has not been convicted of anything, therefore she is not a criminal. She is a citizen who deserves to be treated fairly and without unnecessary force. Also, police mistreatment of citizens is nothing new, it's been going on as long as there have been police. It's only recently that it is getting the proper attention it deserves. In several cities the police have to be reigned in and demilitarized. I do not think this true of New Haven though, but this particular office acted inappropriately (to say the least) and should be terminated.

You would think this article would read "Swift police action prevents stabbing, disorderly juvenile arrested." But no, cops have been America's punching bag as of late.

So is the officer is supposed to yell while someone is resisting, "how old are you?" and then he/she can make a decision whether to tactically take a person to the ground. Atwater and Rev you guys are not cops and would never take on the difficult job and both have no clue and she did commit a crime, that's why she was arrested. And both are exaggerators and agitators, because she's not a child and you guys are making it to be like that was a WWE body slam, which it was not. Rev your profession can be highly critiqued as well, and so can every other profession in the world, but lately everyone is a police expert give me a break. Where is your comments on the other article when the officer's life was threatened and he was kicked in the groin. Nothing because you could careless, you protect criminals and divide the city with your nonsense. The young female had a knife and was acting like a raging idiot, I know Atwater is blind and couldn't see this little angel resist, well I did. Her stance said it all, her feet were spread apart and she was moving her shoulders, cop uses his stationary left leg and uses his upper body and pushes her to the ground, it's a take down used by cops to control the perp. Like I said maybe the cops should ask the perps age before it gets physical, what a joke. Atwater and Rev, both watch to much TV and you live in fantasy land. Join the NHPD and show them how it's done. Maybe you guys should form some type of volunteer St. Patty's Day task force and show up next year and help out the police and observe what they have to go through.