LOS ANGELES --
Two Los Angeles Police Department officers are under investigation
stemming from a use of force incident caught on tape showing a woman
being slammed to the ground twice, once while in handcuffs.Michelle Jordan, 34, of Sunland was pulled over last Tuesday
on Foothill Boulevard and Saluda Avenue for a cellphone violation. She
drove into a Del Taco restaurant parking lot, where the incident was
recorded on surveillance video.The married mother, who works as
a registered nurse, got out of her car. Moments later, the video shows
her being slammed to the pavement and handcuffed. The officers picked
her up, put her against the patrol car and patted her down. Nearly two
minutes later, the two officers pushed her down to the ground a second
time. She was pulled back up and placed in the back seat of the cruiser.
She was cited for resisting arrest."We have a defenseless
woman in a sundress, two fully armed police officers with training in
various restraining devices that they could have used, and instead they
used brutal force to take a woman down to the ground for no reason,"
said one of the woman's attorneys, Arthur Corona.The attorney
says that the most egregious aspect of the officers' behavior was the
"fist bump" gesture the officers shared at the end."The simple
word is outrage," said the woman's other attorney, Sy Nazif. "If anyone
on the street attacked an innocent woman, they would be in jail. We
expect the LAPD officers to be held to the same standard."The
officers are with the LAPD Foothill Division, the same division whose
reputation was tarnished for its involvement in the notorious Rodney
King beating more than 20 years ago. One of the officers involved in
this alleged use of force incident is a 22-year veteran. The other is a
probationary officer only 10 months on the job.LAPD Police
Chief Charlie Beck responded in a statement, saying "My initial review
of the officers' statements and the recorded video cause me to have
serious concerns about this use of force. We will investigate this
thoroughly and hold our officers accountable for their actions."


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8790284