A video showing Tallahassee police officers smashing the face of an intoxicated and unarmed woman into the asphalt during a DUI stop on August 10 is circulating on the internet, sparking outrage and raising questions about police brutality.
The video, taken from the dashboard camera of a police car at the scene, clearly shows two policemen pushing 44-year-old Christina West against the hood of the car before slamming her head against the end of the vehicle, then bringing her face down into the street. One officer uses his knee to pin her neck while she screams in protest.
The incident happened after West had crashed her own car into a house in the middle-class neighborhood. According to a police press release, she was returning from a trip to Panama City, Florida, and was driving under the influence with three minors, who appear in the video to be teenaged boys, in her car. She apparently missed a turn, then ran into a stop sign and a light pole, before ramming the car into the bedroom of a home. No one was in the home at the time.
Someone called the police about the crash and several officers arrived. One appears to have been undergoing training, as another officer explained procedure during the process.
West managed to slip out of the cuffs, and at one point in the video, a banging noise can be heard from inside the car. An officer responded with "Knock it off!"
The policemen opened the car door and asked West to take a breathalyzer test, which she agreed to. However, the situation escalated after West started asking about her husband and the police ordered her out of the car where it seems she grabbed one officer's wrist. Things turned violent and ended with West being handcuffed again and held against the car, before being taken away. While against the car, she can be heard screaming her husband's name, cursing and saying "That was not necessary and you know it."
West was charged with driving under the influence, as well as assaulting a police officer and a nurse in the hospital where she was treated. The State Attorney's office has dismissed all the charges of assault, though the DUI charge persists, pending toxicology reports.
State Attorney Willie Meggs said the footage was "very disturbing." According to local reports, an internal police investigation is underway.
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