Hitting women is bad, but hitting a 14-year old girl is evil. Unfortunately, this is what appears to have happened to a girl in San Antonio when at least 3 police officers tried to detain her by force. Thanks to a video posted on social media, we can be able to highlight this incidence.

 

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The girl’s lawyer, Artessia Tess says that the officer hit the girl with a closed fist. The incidence happened on May 20th when the girl (name withheld) was attending quinceanera. The scuffle started when two adult males who were also attending the event accused each other of inappropriate behavior among the minors.

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According to a report filed by the San Antonio Police Department, the facility evicted the attendees when the scuffle started. However, they would continue fighting outside which necessitated the call of the police to restore order. The girl, who was involved in the first altercation, would later be arrested for assaulting a police officer.

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It is still unclear how the girl assaulted the officer because witnesses said that the girl never hit the police. What is clearly seen in the video is the officer hitting the girl. The San Antonio Express News have analyzed police data over a long time and came to the conclusion that officers in the department are less likely to use force on suspects, but the same report says that 78% of the officers are likely to use force to subdue Latinos and Blacks.

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The girl’s lawyer says that she did not get first aid at the scene but got medical attention much later when she was booked into the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center.

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The minor was detained at the Juvenile center from May 20th to May 23rd. The video that recorded the incident just shows the police hitting the girl, but witnesses say that the girl’s mother was also choked by one of the officers. One wonders why she was not charged for any wrong doing.

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It is disturbing that the issue is being investigated by officers from the same department. According to the San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus, they are just checking compliance with department policies and not whether the officer accosted the young girl or not.

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One would expect that the other officers would have intervened on behalf to the civilians when the situation got out of hand, but this too did not happen.

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“He lacked the restraint and temperament in dealing with the minors. Instead of being the protector, he turned into the aggressor. When you use force on minors, it has to be proportional whether the child hit him or not,” laments Artessia House.

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The lawyer says minors ought to be treated as minors and not as adults and this is why she wants to file a civil action against the officers if the department does not take the required action against those culpable.

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What does the police code of professionalism say about arresting minors? Where does it allow adults to hit children just because they are resisting arrest? Are we better than the medieval Romans who pillaged villages and towns, killing everyone and taking the young ones as slaves? This is a question for every one ponder.