An Austin police officer is under investigation after a police dash cam video surfaced, showing him throwing a black female elementary school teacher to the ground during a routine stop.
The Austin Statesman reports that Breaion King, 26, a 2nd grade teacher, was on her way home from a class in San Marcos, when she was pulled over by officer Bryan Richter in June 2015. She was apparently stopped for speeding, but the seemingly minor incident quickly escalated when King got out of her car.
Watch: Black Woman, Breaion King, Slammed To The Ground Twice By Austin Police! – https://t.co/8DEY3sQYpO pic.twitter.com/2VhneXhWw4
— Morning News USA (@MorningNewsUSA) July 22, 2016
A patrol car dash cam showed King walking towards Richter’s car after she pulled over, but she immediately stopped and walked back to her own car when Richter demanded her to. The officer then walked over to King, who was sitting in the drivers side seat, with the door open and her feet still outside of the car.
When he asked her to put her feet back in the car, King paused briefly and asked the officer to hurry up, something that Richter took as a threat. He immediately pulled her out of her car and threw her forcefully down to the ground.
Richter wrote in his report that King was “reaching for the front passenger side of the vehicle.” He also noted that she acted uncooperative by holding onto the steering wheel and pulling away from him. When another officer arrived on the scene, Richter said that King swung at him, resulting in him throwing her down. King was handcuffed and charged her with resisting arrest.
Another officer took King to the Travis County jail after she said she didn’t feel safe with Richter. While en route to the jail, officer Patrick Spradling attempted to explain to King why she was handled so roughly.
“Why are so many people afraid of black people? I can give you a really good idea why it might be that way: violent tendencies…But 99% of the time, when you hear about stuff like that, it’s the black community that’s being violent. That’s why a lot of the white people are afraid of them, and I don’t blame them.”
"I'm afraid of the people who are supposed to protect me." #BreaionKing #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/vCC5d1DPTt pic.twitter.com/dhWZ7j3M2V
— dare dukes (@daredukes) July 21, 2016
Richter received a light discipline sentence for his actions by the Austin Police Department, which included additional training and counseling. Internal affairs never investigated the incident. Austin PD stated that Spradlin wasn’t disciplined for what he said because they only learned about it after the Austin Statesman dug further into the incident.
Meanwhile, King hired an attorney and is currently considering whether she should file a lawsuit against the officers and Austin PD. After the recent popularity of the video, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg stepped in and asked the Austin Special Investigations Unit to assist in investigating the case.
Austin PD Chief Art Acevedo speaks to media regarding #BreaionKing arrest. Watch live on https://t.co/bijhmww8IV pic.twitter.com/EWWEdYzS6r
— Tina Phan (@tinaphan) July 21, 2016
Meanwhile, NBC reports that Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo recently made a statement about the video, indicating that the video disturbed him. He also mentioned another piece of evidence in the case that’s being looked into, but he didn’t go into details.
“After reviewing both videos, I and our leadership team were highly disturbed and disappointed in both the way Ms. King was approached and handled and in the mindset that we saw on display in those videos. But there is another piece, which has caused concerns as to our review process and the systems we have in place.”
Acevedo said that he regretted the incident wasn’t brought to attention earlier, but to many people, there’s no excuse for authorities to take so long to investigate the incident. King now has a number of online supporters who are hoping she receives justice.
@docrocktex26 Only AFTER video emerged => Austin Police Chief 'Sickened, Saddened' by Violent Arrest of Breaion King https://t.co/TA0eiEYg26
— Julie Laumann (@j_laumann) July 22, 2016
A Travis County judge eventually threw out King’s resisting arrest charge. The Austin police officers involved in the incident haven’t been disciplined any further.
[Photo by AP/Harry Cabluck]
Austin Police Officer Under Investigation For Slamming Black Female Teacher On Ground is an article from: The Inquisitr News