VIDEO: Chicago Police Release Video of Beaten Officer Who Didn't Pull Weapon

The Chicago Police Department released a video Friday of a man appearing to severely beat a female police officer on the street earlier this month — an attack the city's police chief has suggested was an example of officers "second-guessing" themselves amid intense media scrutiny, reports the Washington Post.

Police said the officer, a 17-year member of the force, was responding to a car crash on Oct. 5 when Parta Huff, the 28-year-old driver, punched her and slammed her head against the pavement until she passed out. The officer was hospitalized and treated for shoulder, wrist, and neck injuries, the Chicago Tribune reported. Huff is charged with attempted murder of a police officer and aggravated battery to a police officer.

The incident received national attention when Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told a gathering of police officers and firefighters earlier this month that the officer did not use her gun to defend herself during the attack because she was afraid of the media attention that would come if she shot Huff.