Police officer who struck Latina in the face during Los Angeles arrest suspended

A Westminster police officer was placed on paid administrative leave after cell phone video showed him hitting a woman handcuffed twice in the face

Photo: ALEX EDELMAN / AFP / Getty Images

An officer from the Westminster Police Department in Orange County, was placed on paid administrative leave after beating a handcuffed woman, the department said Thursday.

According to the police department, officers received a call reporting an assault and battery around 4 p.m. Wednesday on the block 4990 of Locust Street.

The suspended agent, whose His name has not been reported by the authorities, he was one of several policemen who attended the complaint of an Asian woman who accused Ciomara García, of 34 years, having attacked her.

Apparently the two women had an exchange of words when the Asian woman tried to catch Garcia’s dog that was loose in the street and the Latina physically assaulted her.

A Westminster police officer is on paid leave after cellphone video captured him punching a woman in the face while arresting her on suspicion of assault, authorities say. Two other officers intervened to stop him. https://t.co/gElDWjYI 25 pic.twitter.com/ZwBKPkCQVB

– KTLA (@KTLA) April 25, 2021

The Asian woman later returned accompanied by the police and the agents preventively handcuffed García. upon noticing that she appeared to be under the influence of drugs and had a prior warrant for her arrest, the Westminster Police Department reported in a statement.

While sitting in the sidewalk waiting for the arrival of the paramedics, García “became aggressive against the agents” and

one of the officers hit her twice in the face while she was handcuffed , said the authorities’ report.

In the video circulating on the networks , recorded by a resident of the area, is seen when two police officers try to lift García, who is sitting and handcuffed with her hands behind her. In the attempt to lift her up, the woman resists, falls backward and kicks one of the officers, who in response, he hits her with his fist on the face several times, as seen in the video.

Immediately another agent intervenes and separates the policeman who had hit García, who continues to kick.

Finally between two policemen they manage to get her to her feet. “The Westminster Police Department considers this to be a serious event and will ensure that this investigation is guided by the law and the truth,” that department said in the communication.

Adolpho Rosales, Garcia’s brother, said officers came to his home shouting his name. “She is bipolar, she has schizophrenia” , he said. “I think they could do a better job since they already have a history with her, they already know her.”

This incident occurs in the same week that the debate on excess force by the police has been fueled following Tuesday’s guilty verdict against former agent Derek Chauvin for the murder of African-American George Floyd.

Garcia was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation and no injuries were reported, police said . And then she was detained in the Orange County jail for the pending court order on suspicion of vandalism.

The Latina faces charges of assault on the Asian woman, resisting arrest , assault on a Police officer and being under the influence of a controlled substance.