VIDEO: Homeless Woman Sues CHP Over Videoed Force Incident
A woman seen on cellphone video being repeatedly punched by a California Highway Patrol officer on the side of a Los Angeles freeway has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the beating, her lawyer announced Thursday.
Marlene Pinnock, a 51-year-old homeless woman, was detained July 1 on the side of the 10 Freeway near La Brea Avenue in a violent arrest caught on cellphone camera by a passing motorist. Video of the incident quickly went viral.
CHP officers were responding to a report of a woman walking into lanes on the freeway at the time of the incident, authorities have said.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges civil rights violations and use of excessive force on the part of the California Highway Patrol officer, who has not been identified, KTLA TV reports.
Pinnock’s lawyers said they want the officer fired and charged criminally.
Holding their news conference outside the federal building in Westwood, the attorneys called for the FBI to investigate and seek attempted murder charges against the officer.
