VIDEO: Austin police beat woman accused of camping and resisting arrest

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A video taken of an arrest in northeast Austin appears to show an officer beating a woman several times while she is being held on the ground.

The incident happened after Austin police in an arrest warrant said she refused to get up from the ground in a shopping mall in Austin in addition to scratching one of the officers.

According to the statement, Simone Nicole Griffith, 26, was seen camping / sleeping next to the Carousel Pediatrics-Springdale building in the area of ​​7112 Ed Bluestein Boulevard on Oct. 30 around noon. 17.15

The APD reports a criminal notice about the intrusion was issued by a security guard to the complex, but Griffith still refused to leave. The responding officer says she still refused to get up and cursed aggressively, saying “Shut up, I’m not doing anything. I know m —– f —– g-law, b—-!” The officer says because of her behavior that he called for another unit to report to the scene.

The officer says he indicated to Griffith that she had been arrested, and she said, “No, I’m not. I do not have to stand up for you. You are not the law, b—-.”

When further help arrived, the officer says he and another officer tried to get Griffith off the ground, but she would not. The officer says at this point that they tried to handcuff her while she was lying on the ground, but she pulled her hands away and slapped and scratched his face.

“[We] continued to tell [Griffith] not to resist, but she kept fighting, ”the statement said.

At this point in the video, one of the officers can be seen hitting Griffith at least five times in the upper body.

The statement claims that officers “eventually had to use force to apprehend her, even though Nicole had already been informed that she had been arrested.”

In the statement, he claims that Griffith’s scratches resulted in a 1/2 inch bloody laceration on the left side of my cheek, in addition to kicking my torso / hip area. ”

Griffith is charged with misdemeanor arrest and felony criminal mischief. Griffith has been arrested several times in the past and has been charged with resisting arrest in another city in Texas.

A power expert’s opinion on the video

A force expert KXAN spoke to said all law enforcement agencies have an investigation process related to violations of the department’s policies or incidents of force, he said.

Typically, this means that the agency’s internal department investigates the incident and sends a final report to the officers’ superiors, including any recommendations for discipline if the department believes it is justified.

He said the police chief will make the ultimate decision on whether an officer is disciplined and what the disciplinary action will entail. He added that a video does not provide all the details related to what happened between officers and the people they interact with, and that decisions about the use of force are made in real time based on current circumstances.

KXAN has contacted the Austin Police Department for a comment. We will update when we hear back.