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HipChick

(25,485 posts)
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 08:40 PM Jan 2020

Police release video of officer throwing a 76-year-old grandmother to ground and tasering




Baltimore County Police body camera footage shows how an incident where an officer seeking to arrest a woman for disorderly conduct quickly escalated, ending with police throwing a 76-year-old grandmother to the ground during an arrest at her home earlier this month.

The police department released footage Tuesday from three body-worn cameras, as well as the 911 call and police radio transmissions of the arrest of Rena Mellerson and her granddaughter, Cierra Floyd. The arrest was caught on cellphone video and sparked public outrage. Police Chief Melissa Hyatt called that video footage “unsettling” and a department spokeswoman said criminal and internal affairs investigations are ongoing.

One police body-camera video shows the confrontation between an officer, identified as Cpl. Brennan, and Floyd and Mellerson at the door of Mellerson’s home. Baltimore County typically does not release the first names of officers, citing its contract with the police union.

In the video, Brennan tells Mellerson that Floyd is under arrest for disorderly conduct. As Mellerson opens the door, Floyd is heard telling Mellerson to stop. The grandmother starts to close the door and Brennan grabs the doorknob.

Floyd approaches the door and Brennan pulls out his Taser to aim it at Floyd. Mellerson can be heard in the footage trying to persuade Floyd to go with Brennan. Seconds later, however, the door closes with the women inside. Although Brennan’s foot can’t be seen in the footage, he is heard shouting to the women “my foot is stuck in the door and you’re both going to get [expletive] locked up.”

The video shows Brennan using his pepper spray through the small opening left in the doorway. He also fires his Taser, but misses. He tells dispatch about his pinned foot as he asks for backup. Seconds later, Brennan draws and points his handgun at the door as he orders them to get back.

Eventually, Brennan forces his way inside the home, spraying Floyd with pepper spray because she won’t remove her hands from her pockets. Brennan can be heard coughing from the pepper spray.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-co-cr-baltimore-grandmother-arrest-20200129-rqezanqhfzf7rfqbmgtttvut6y-story.html
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Police release video of officer throwing a 76-year-old grandmother to ground and tasering (Original Post) HipChick Jan 2020 OP
no one is safe.. stillcool Jan 2020 #1
Especially not if they resist arrest. NCLefty Jan 2020 #2
lawful? good god, don't even.. stillcool Jan 2020 #5
Did he have. Warrant? If so, why didn't he produce it? Happy Hoosier Jan 2020 #7
There was no warrant. He observed the conduct and followed her to arrest. NCLefty Jan 2020 #10
But he can't force entry... Happy Hoosier Jan 2020 #11
He could've let her off with a warning radius777 Jan 2020 #13
And that's the truth malaise Jan 2020 #14
7 cop cars? good gawd rurallib Jan 2020 #3
Cops get away with doing wrong stuff a lot. Captain Stern Jan 2020 #4
it's amazing the lengths some police go to on a misdemeanor charge soryang Jan 2020 #6
The person they were going after is black Zolorp Jan 2020 #8
This message was self-deleted by its author soryang Jan 2020 #12
THIS malaise Jan 2020 #15
FTP. WhiskeyGrinder Jan 2020 #9

NCLefty

(3,678 posts)
2. Especially not if they resist arrest.
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 09:15 PM
Jan 2020

If you're under arrest, you have to go. There's no other option other than escalation. And if he escalated beyond what he was trained for, he should get in trouble too, but that's an outcome that the arrestee often has a lot of say in (by following the lawful orders).

stillcool

(32,626 posts)
5. lawful? good god, don't even..
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 09:39 PM
Jan 2020

what crime did the 76 year old commit? None. If cops can't deal with human beings....criminal or not...they should not be among the public. Doesn't matter anymore, does it? Lawful. What a frigging joke.



Brennan pulls Mellerson outside, and a second officer, identified as “Officer Schmidt," arrives and throws her to the ground — and Brennan tells him to “be easy with her.”
In Schmidt’s video, he tells Mellerson he responded the way he did because he viewed her as "an immediate threat.” Later, Schmidt tells Mellerson “the reason I put you on the ground ma’am is because I saw Taser probes in you,” but Mellerson can be seen disagreeing with his explanation.

In both videos, children can be heard crying “mama” and officers ask if they were hit with pepper spray.



Happy Hoosier

(7,083 posts)
7. Did he have. Warrant? If so, why didn't he produce it?
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 10:31 PM
Jan 2020

There was no imminent danger, and it is a misdemeanor charge.

NCLefty

(3,678 posts)
10. There was no warrant. He observed the conduct and followed her to arrest.
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 10:39 PM
Jan 2020

And, naturally, not having a warrant doesn't mean you can refuse compliance.

Happy Hoosier

(7,083 posts)
11. But he can't force entry...
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 11:15 PM
Jan 2020

That’s where he fucked up. Once denied entry, he needs a warrant. It was a misdemeanor.

radius777

(3,624 posts)
13. He could've let her off with a warning
Thu Jan 30, 2020, 04:39 AM
Jan 2020

for such a low level offense (public disturbance) committed in the middle of the day.

The women also should not have resisted arrest and slammed the door on an officer, only making it that much worse.

Cops do a very difficult and important job, and one has to wonder about the process used to select them. We should be selecting the smartest, toughest most level-headed people to do this job. Often what we see in these clips is the opposite. This guy got hysterical (cursed, used pepper spray, taser, etc) on a grandmother. What would he do if faced with a real threat?

soryang

(3,299 posts)
6. it's amazing the lengths some police go to on a misdemeanor charge
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 10:20 PM
Jan 2020

classic case of how not to proceed on both sides.

 

Zolorp

(1,115 posts)
8. The person they were going after is black
Wed Jan 29, 2020, 10:37 PM
Jan 2020

The systemic racism demands they go to any length.

Where was the warrant? No warrant. Complete violation of everybody's rights. The cops belong in prison, not these people.

Response to Zolorp (Reply #8)

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