Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Andrea]

Police will be required to report officer-involved deaths under new US system

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/08/police-officer-related-deaths-department-of-justice?CMP=share_btn_tw

Police departments will be required to give the US justice department full details of deadly incidents involving their officers each quarter, under a new government system for counting killings by police that was influenced by the Guardian.

Announcing a new program for documenting all “arrest-related deaths”, federal officials said they would actively work to confirm fatal cases seen in media reports and other open sources rather than wait for departments to report them voluntarily.

The methodology of the new system, which aims to replace a discredited count by the FBI, mirrors that of The Counted, an ongoing Guardian effort to document every death caused by law enforcement officers in 2015 and 2016.

Writing in the Federal Register, Department of Justice officials said their new program should increase transparency around the use of force by police and improve accountability for the actions of individual officers.

“Accurate and comprehensive accounting of deaths that occur during the process of arrest is critical for law enforcement agencies to demonstrate responsiveness to the citizens and communities they serve,” their notice said.

The federal government has kept no comprehensive record of killings by police officers, even as a series of controversial deaths set off unrest in cities across the country over the past two years. An annual voluntary count by the FBI of fatal shootings by officers has recorded only about half the true number.

The new system is being overseen by the department’s bureau of justice statistics (BJS). It would, like the Guardian’s, document deaths caused by physical force, Taser shocks and some vehicle crashes caused by law enforcement in addition to fatal shootings by officers. A Washington Post tally counts fatal shootings by police.

In their Federal Register article, officials cited their authority under the death in custody reporting act – a law that states local departments must report all deaths in custody to the justice department or lose 10% of their federal funding. The law has been largely ignored since being reauthorized in December 2014.

The BJS carried out a trial of its new system that monitored deaths between 1 June and 31 August last year. Officials working on the pilot program cited The Counted as an influence on the initiative and a source for its information.

Officials estimate that this year there will be about 2,100 arrest-related deaths across the US involving 1,066 different police departments. The BJS criteria includes a wide range of deaths including suicides and natural causes. Last year the Guardian counted 1,146 deaths caused by police in narrower terms.

According to the announcement, police departments will be asked later this year to report once for all arrest-related deaths during 2016, before moving to the quarterly reporting process next year.

Under the new government program, all 19,450 American law enforcement agencies will be sent a form by the BJS that requires information on all the department’s arrest-related deaths in the past quarter of the year.

Deaths that were already noticed in media reports will be listed by the BJS for confirmation or correction by the local departments. Space will be included for the local department to list additional deaths that were not previously noticed. Departments that have seen no arrest-related deaths that quarter will be asked to return “an affirmative zero” saying so.

A second form seeking extensive information about the circumstances of each death will be sent to the local department responsible. It will require local officials to detail similar data to that logged by The Counted, such as demographic information on every person killed, how the deadly encounter began and whether the person was armed.

Other forms will be sent to the 685 medical examiner’s and coroner’s offices asking them to also confirm details of deaths that have been noticed in public sources. They, too, will be asked to return forms with details of any other deaths that went unnoticed.

The BJS ran a previous arrest-related deaths count that was shuttered in April 2014, four months before the issue of killings by police became a national controversy following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Officials acknowledged in a review of the previous program that its census-style method led to an under-documenting of deaths. They argue that their new “hybrid approach” – proactively seeking out fatal cases using open sources such as news reports, while also asking police to alert them to unnoticed cases – will lead to more comprehensive data.

There will also be a two-month consultation period inviting comments on how it might work, particularly from law enforcement agencies and medical examiners who would be affected.

The FBI said at the end of last year that it planned to overhaul its discredited system for counting shootings by officers to include other uses of force and non-deadly incidents. The FBI program, however, is expected to remain voluntary.

[Andrea]

Justice Department report: Baltimore Police routinely violated civil rights

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-doj-report-20160809-story.html

Baltimore police routinely violated the constitutional rights of residents by conducting unlawful stops and using excessive force, according to two people familiar with the findings of a long-anticipated Justice Department probe expected to be released Wednesday.

The practices overwhelmingly fell on the shoulders of the city’s black residents in poor neighborhoods, according to the sources, who did not want to be identified prior to the report’s release.

Launched after the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray from injuries sustained while in police custody, the wide-ranging probe uncovered deep and systemic problems with how Baltimore officers do their jobs and how they are policed themselves, the people said.

Gray’s death, which triggered rioting captured on live television, was one of several recent killings nationwide of unarmed black men by police officers. The deaths have provoked a nationwide conversation about race, discrimination and police practices. It has also exposed deep rifts between police and the communities they serve.

The results of the Justice Department’s investigation are expected to be announced Wednesday in Baltimore at a press conference attended by high-ranking federal law enforcement officials and city leaders.

Among the findings: Baltimore police too often stopped, frisked and arrested residents without legal justification, and such activities fell disproportionately on black residents and drivers, the people said.

Officers also too frequently used excessive force in situations that did not call for aggressive measures, the people said, and were found to have routinely retaliated against residents for exercising their right to free speech and free assembly.

The investigation concluded that deeply entrenched problems were allowed to fester because the department did not properly oversee, train or hold accountable officers. For example, the people said, the department lacks systems to deter and detect improper conduct, and it fails to collect and analyze data that might root out abuses or abusers.

Andrea: Clink link for rest of article

[Andrea]

Harrisburg Police Shoot Bipolar Man In The Heart

https://thinkprogress.org/earl-pinckney-shooting-2218d903c256#.hykt3ypui

After police shot Earl “Shaleek” Pinckney in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday, they said the 20-year-old was armed with a knife, threatening his mother, and refusing to follow their commands. But Kim Thomas says that her son wasn’t holding a knife when police shot him through a window, putting a bullet in Pinckney’s heart.

According to the police account offered on Monday, officers were responding to a call about a man endangering his mother. When they arrived, Pinckney was holding a knife to Thomas’ neck, but refused to put the weapon down. An unidentified officer shot the 20-year-old as his mother tried to get away.

But Thomas has since disputed the officers’ narrative, maintaining that Pinckney wasn’t holding a knife and was actually shot through a window.

Thomas said that cops were called earlier in the day about a family dispute, which picked up later in the evening before police arrived. Although her son, who was bipolar, had been arguing with his sister and a niece in his bedroom, Thomas was able to calm him down. Moments later, as Pinckney held her head, someone shined a light through his bedroom window and shot him in the heart.

“He didn’t have nothing in his hands,” Thomas said. “He was holding my head. They never came in.”

Andrea: Click link for rest of article

[Andrea]

Man shot to death by L.A. County deputy was not a carjacking suspect, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-shooting-20160809-snap-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department acknowledged Tuesday that a man who was shot and killed by a deputy in Compton last month was not connected to a carjacking that led to the shooting, as it had reported earlier.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect who had allegedly fired at deputies, striking their patrol cruiser. At the time, the Sheriff’s Department said Thompson matched the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

“We have determined that there is no evidence that Mr. Thompson was in the carjacked vehicle, nor that he was involved in the assault on the deputies,” the department said in the statement.

The announcement came hours before Thompson’s family called on Los Angeles County supervisors to hold the deputies involved in the shooting accountable. The family plans to file a federal civil rights claim against the county Wednesday, according to attorney Brian Dunn.

Deputies came across Thompson during the search when a neighbor reported finding a man lying in his yard, then called 911 around 5 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Sheriff’s homicide Capt. Steven Katz said deputies from the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau, which handles dangerous tactical situations, tried to use several less-lethal force options against Thompson after numerous attempts to communicate with him failed. Thompson was lying with his left hand under his head and his right hand under his mid-section, Katz said.

Deputies at the scene were concerned Thompson might have had a gun next to him or been involved in the carjacking, and they relayed that to the tactical officers, Sheriff’s homicide Lt. John Corina said. A flashbang was deployed, but had no effect, according to Katz, who said the tactical officers then fired three rubber bullets at Thompson.

Two of those rounds struck Thompson, who then stood up, looked around, and ran toward an armored sheriff’s vehicle. A deputy in that vehicle fired two rounds from an M4 rifle, striking Thompson twice in the upper torso.

“His concern was if he gets past me, then he’s in the community, can get into somebody’s house, then we have a barricaded suspect,” Katz said of the deputy’s decision to open fire.

Another suspect in the carjacking case, 24-year-old Robert Alexander, had been found hiding in another person’s home shortly before deputies came into contact with Thompson, Katz said. That suspect had yet to be officially identified as the carjacker, according to Katz.

The fact that deputies were still concerned that another carjacking suspect might be on the loose and that the one man already taken into custody had been found in a nearby home made the deputies who confronted Thompson more concerned about the danger he might pose if he got away, Katz said.

Alexander, who was charged with attempted murder and carjacking, has an extensive criminal record, Katz said. He was said to be wearing a dark-colored sleeveless vest and shorts. At the time of the shooting, Thompson was wearing what appeared to be a grey Kobe Bryant jersey and shorts.

While he declined to call the shooting a mistake, Katz said the incident had certainly raised questions.

“Knowing what we know now, do we wish it hadn’t happened?” he said. “It speaks for itself.”

No weapon was recovered.

Thompson’s relatives said Thursday morning that the 27-year-old — who was nicknamed “Lil’ Bo’ Peep” — had no criminal record and would never pose a threat to anyone. Thompson may have had an undiagnosed mental disability, according to his oldest sister, Matrice Stanley, who said he was taking classes for people with diminished mental capacities at El Camino College’s Compton Center.

”His age was 27, but mentally, he was not at that age,” she said. “Mentally, he was probably 16.”

Stanley and other relatives attended a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning to protest the shooting. Emotions ran high inside the meeting, as chants of “say his name!” and “Donnell Thompson” echoed throughout the chamber between brief speeches from the man’s relatives.

”When you killed my brother, you killed me,” Stanley said.

Relatives did not know why Thompson was on the street where the shooting took place, but believed he became startled when approached by deputies. Sheriff’s officials said they were also unsure why Thompson was there.

Dunn, the family’s attorney, said a federal civil rights claim will be filed against the county on Wednesday.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect.

“Everything that we’ve learned up to this point has demonstrated that the SWAT officers or the deputies that responded, from the initial contact with Mr. Thompson up until the shooting, behaved in an aggressive manner and did not adopt a tactical attitude that would have de-escalated this encounter into a peaceful one,” Dunn said. “The result is that we have an unarmed individual, who had committed no crime, who once again has been the victim of a law enforcement homicide.”

Speaking to the county’s Board of Supervisors, relatives pointed out that Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Mo. They said they were horrified to see Thompson, who was black, become the latest name associated with the national controversy over how police use force, particularly against blacks.

Relatives described Thompson as a harmless, shy man who was a fan of Michael Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Danielle Moore, a 21-year-old former classmate, said Thompson could often be found playing the card game “Uno” at Compton Center, adding that he rarely lost unless his friends cheated at the game.

The youngest of four siblings, Thompson lived with his father in Compton and mostly kept to himself, relatives said.

”You had to be this close to hear him [speak],” said Thompson’s cousin, Larmar Avila, as he held his finger to his ear. “He’s soft-spoken. He was gentle. What was the threat?”

The Sheriff’s Department’s announcement came after a lengthy review, including a special session by the department’s Critical Incident Review Committee on Monday, to determine whether Thompson was involved in the carjacking and the alleged assault on the deputies.

The committee, which included assistant sheriffs, chiefs, commanders, personnel from risk management and training, the Executive Force Review Committee chair, county counsel, inspector general and sheriff’s constitutional policing advisers, reviewed gunshot testing residue, DNA evidence to determine if Thompson was in the carjacking vehicle, fingerprints and interviews with family, deputies and witnesses.

The deputy has been reassigned to non-field duties, though sheriff’s officials have not released his name. The investigation into the fatal shooting is continuing and findings will be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The Sheriff’s Department initially reported that Thompson was one of two carjacking suspects.

The events leading to the shooting began when Compton station deputies stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near 134th Street and Alameda Avenue about 2:30 a.m. After running the plates, the deputies discovered the vehicle was stolen earlier that night in South Los Angeles. When the deputies called for backup, the driver sped away. That started a chase during which shots were fired at the pursuing deputies.

The carjacker drove through the schoolyard at Jefferson Elementary and crashed into multiple fences, according to Katz. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed into the curb in the 13400 block of Compton Avenue.

According to authorities, once the car stopped, one suspect exited the vehicle and there was an exchange of gunfire. Several shots struck the deputies’ cruiser but no deputies were injured.

Authorities said the gunman and another suspect escaped into a nearby neighborhood, so officials cordoned off several blocks and set up a perimeter.

At one point, the gunman forced his way into a home in the 2000 block of North Slater Avenue, where deputies found him hiding, Katz said. He was taken into custody and was found to match the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

At about 5 a.m., they were notified about Thompson, who was 200 to 300 feet from the initial gun battle with deputies.

At the Compton neighborhood Tuesday morning, neighbors were reluctant to talk.

Just feet away from Bandera Avenue and Stockwell Street, outside a light green stucco home, several votive candles and flowers were placed on the sidewalk. Some were lined up to form the letter "D."

"R.I.P bro/best friend" was written with a black marker on a red candle.

The troubling details of Thompson’s death come as the Sheriff’s Department is investigating two other recent shootings of unarmed men, and two years after another mistaken identity shooting rocked the agency.

In 2014, sheriff’s officials acknowledged that deputies mistakenly shot and killed an aspiring TV producer whom they thought was a stabbing suspect. John Winkler, 30, had gone to a neighbor's apartment in West Hollywood where a man was holding people hostage and tried to help. Winkler was shot when he rushed out of the apartment with another victim who had been trapped inside the apartment with a third victim and the suspect.

Deputies also shot an unarmed homeless man, 51-year-old William Bowers, in Castaic while trying to question him on Aug. 2. Bowers had jumped off a bike and attempted to flee when he was fatally shot in the upper torso, authorities said. Five days later, a deputy shot an unarmed suspect inside a residence in Inglewood. The suspect had fled into the home after a deputy attempted to stop him from spraying “gang graffiti” on a nearby wall, the department said in a statement.

The supervisors did not discuss the Thompson case after hearing from his relatives on Tuesday, but Supervisor Hilda Solis offered a brief statement of condolences to the family.

“There are members of the board who are sympathetic, and we care about you, and we care about your family and our neighborhoods,” she said.

[*Anya*]

The US government will track killings by police for the first time ever

By Tess Owen

August 9, 2016

The US Department of Justice, for the first time, will keep a comprehensive database of fatal officer-involved incidents, amid rising skepticism around police accountability.

It seems impossible to ignore that the announcement from the Federal Register came late on Monday, just one day before the two-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown — the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. His death triggered protests, sparked a national conversation about policing, and shone a spotlight on the systemic racism that pervades criminal justice in the US.

Until now, the FBI has maintained a dataset which includes information about fatal police shootings. Local law-enforcement agencies can voluntarily submit homicide statistics, including incidents involving police, to state police departments, which in turn send the data to the FBI. But since Brown's death, that system has been widely discredited.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the FBI dataset was missing more than 550 police killings between 2007 and 2012 from 105 of the country's largest police departments.

The new DOJ system is modeled after "The Counted" — a groundbreaking initiative by The Guardian which kept track of police killings since 2015 by relying on local media reports, and as a result has created a more complete picture of brutality by law enforcement in the US.

All law enforcement agencies — 19,450 in total — will be required to submit quarterly reports of all officer-involved deaths directly to the DOJ, including information about the location and time of the incident, manner of death, the victim's behavior during the incident, reason for initial contact, and the victim's race, age, gender, and so on. Failure to comply means they could lose 10 percent of their agency's funding.

Medical examiners and coroners will also be required to submit reports to the DOJ whenever they receive a body of someone who was killed by police.

Federal officials also say they will also work independently to verify fatal officer-involved incidents seen in local media reports and other sources, rather than waiting for police confirmation.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-us...rst-time-ever?

[Andrea]

LAPD officer charged in assault quietly avoids jail time under plea deal with prosecutors

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-lapd-plea-20160809-snap-story.html

The videotaped assault was so alarming, one Los Angeles police official called it “horrific.” The victim later said he was afraid he was going to die.

The LAPD and the civilian Police Commission came down hard on Officer Richard Garcia, saying he violated department policies when he kicked and punched Clinton Alford Jr. during an October 2014 arrest in South Los Angeles. The district attorney came down even harder, taking the rare step of filing a felony assault charge against an on-duty officer.

Garcia faced up to three years in jail if convicted.

Then the case quietly came to an end.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors this spring, Garcia pleaded no contest to the felony charge as part of a deal with prosecutors that will see him avoid jail time if he completes community service and donates $500 to a charity by late May 2017. Under the agreement, Garcia would then be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and would be placed on two years of probation, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said.

Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, whose office never publicly announced the plea, defended her office’s decision to settle the case without any jail time, saying she felt the agreement was appropriate.

She declined to detail the reasons for the plea, but said prosecutors generally look at a range of information including the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, whether the defendant has a prior record and the credibility of the witnesses. Video, she cautioned, “doesn’t tell the whole story sometimes.”

Lacey declined to say whether pending criminal charges filed against Alford influenced the decision. Court records showed Alford, 24, faces charges including pimping, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

“I understand how in looking at the final result, someone may think that it wasn’t a just sentence,” she said. “But they simply don’t have all the information that we did when we made the final decision.”

Lacey said that she believed filing the felony charge against Garcia signaled to both police officers and residents that “people will be held accountable.”

“I do think it sends a strong message to any law enforcement officer who is thinking about violating the law,” she said. “If you talk to any officer about a felony on their record gotten in the course of their job, I don’t think anyone would see this as light at all.”

But others disagreed. Mac Shorty, the chair of the Watts Neighborhood Council, said the outcome was too lenient and another example of Lacey not holding police officers accountable during a time of increased scrutiny of how officers use force, particularly against African Americans.

“That’s not justice,” he said. “If I do something wrong, I face prison time. It’s not fair to the community that anybody coming into the community mistreats someone and gets a slap on the wrist.”

Caree Harper, an attorney representing Alford in a federal lawsuit he filed against the city, said that for nearly two years, her client and his family “have believed that Mr. Garcia would receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist and be back on the beat in no time.”

Garcia, who has been with the LAPD for about a decade, is awaiting what is known as a Board of Rights hearing, where a three-person panel decides disciplinary cases for officers who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions.

The officer’s lawyer defended his client’s actions, saying the LAPD and Lacey both overreacted to what he described as a reasonable level of force. Attorney Robert Rico said Garcia was “ready and willing to go to trial” but accepted a deal that he believed was in his best interest.

“This case was overcharged from the start. It never should have been filed,” Rico said. “The only reason it was filed was because of the ongoing, negative berating that law enforcement gets…. The D.A. and the chief politicized it.”

Alford’s arrest mirrored similar encounters with police across the country that have prompted criticism and concern: A black man, assaulted by a police officer, caught on tape. The video of the encounter — captured by a nearby security camera — was enough to raise alarm among police officials, but has not been made public.

In an earlier interview with The Times, Alford said he was riding his bicycle along Avalon Boulevard when a car pulled up and a man yelled at him to stop. Someone grabbed the back of his bike, he said, so he jumped off and ran.

Authorities later said police were investigating a robbery and that Alford matched the description of their suspect.

After a short chase, two police officers caught up to Alford. The video showed him getting on the ground and putting his hands behind his back, according to several police officials who saw the footage.

Seconds later, the sources said, a patrol car pulled up and a uniformed officer bailed out of the car, rushing toward Alford.

Garcia kicked, elbowed, punched and slapped Alford, according to a report from Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck made public last fall. The officer’s actions, the chief said in the report, were not reasonable “given Alford’s limited and unapparent resistance.”

“I was just praying to God that they wouldn’t kill me,” Alford told reporters. “I felt that I was going to die.”

Six months after the arrest, Lacey’s office announced that Garcia had been charged with felony assault under the color of authority. At the time, he was the third LAPD officer facing such a charge in connection with an on-duty incident caught on camera.

Jonathan Lai was charged in 2014 after prosecutors said he repeatedly struck a man — who was on his knees and had his hands on his head — with a police baton outside a restaurant near Staples Center. A jury acquitted him of two felony charges last year.

Mary O’Callaghan was convicted last year in connection with a deadly 2012 incident involving a woman arrested in South L.A. Patrol car footage showed the veteran officer kicking Alesia Thomas in the stomach and groin while the woman was in handcuffs and leg restraints. Thomas, a 35-year-old mother, lost consciousness in a police car and died later at a hospital.

But Lacey has faced criticism over her handling of other cases involving law enforcement officers, including her decision not to charge a California Highway Patrol officer who punched a woman along the 10 Freeway — another encounter caught on video.

Activists have also questioned why prosecutors have not yet said whether they will charge the LAPD officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man, as he walked near his South L.A. home. Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of Ford’s death.

“She has hurt the community more than she’s helped us by not holding these people accountable,” Shorty, the Watts resident, said.

A judge approved the plea agreement with Garcia at a court hearing on May 26. News of the deal emerged this week, first reported by Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant and commentator who also blogs about the LAPD.

Under the agreement, a D.A.’s spokeswoman said, Garcia must complete 300 hours of community service, stay away from Alford and follow all laws before his next hearing in May. If he violates those terms, the felony will stand and he will be placed on three years’ probation. If he doesn’t show up to court for the hearing, he could be sentenced to jail.

“I am confident you will be here,” Judge William N. Sterling told Garcia when the deal was finalized. “But if you do fail to appear … the court can then sentence you to the maximum.”

“Do you understand and agree?” the judge asked.

“Yes,” Garcia replied.

[Andrea]

Houston police officer off the streets after abc13 investigation

http://abc13.com/1466162/

In a newly obtained video, a Houston Police officer is seen balling his fist, punching a woman in the face and slamming her to the floor of a drunk-tank cell after she swung her elbow at the officer while questioning the no-refusal blood test. She is charged with felony assault. Until Ted Oberg Investigates asked questions, it wasn't apparent the officer's actions would even face strict review.

The incident and the video -- which Harris County District Attorney's Office said is now under review by civil rights prosecutors -- is the second to emerge from the Houston police lockup providing a look at officers physically reacting to suspects brought into the drunk tank.

Houston police brass have consistently refused to answer questions from abc13 about these incidents. Mayor Sylvester Turner declined comment on the first video uncovered by Ted Oberg Investigates, saying that incident took place in December 2014, during the administration of the previous mayor, Annise Parker.

This latest incident, involving 43-year-old Sharon Graves of Katy, took place March 30 -- nearly four months into Turner's term. He learned of this video after abc13 started asking questions about it and said this week he wants HPD to "scrutinize it very carefully to make sure police officers acted correctly."

"I expect a very thorough, very detailed review," Turner said early Wednesday.

By late Wednesday - hours after abc13 started promoting the story -- City Hall announced the officer was placed on administrative leave.

This incident comes as police departments across the country are coming under greater scrutiny for their actions with suspects in their custody and as Turner's team is conducting a nationwide search to replace the Houston police chief who retired six months ago.

Arrested for driving while intoxicated, Graves refused a breath sample so a judge issued Houston police a 'no-refusal' warrant to test her blood.

Once inside the testing room, Graves had questions about the paperwork

"The documentation didn't look right," Graves told abc13. "I was trying to get answers."

Her lawyer, Tyler Flood, said that Graves, who has many law enforcement friends, had legitimate questions about the warrant.

Then, "She stood up, showing physical objection to the legality of the process," Flood said.

Added Graves, "I was scared. I've never been in that situation."

The HPD surveillance video shows it unfold.

Graves is seen holding the warrant, examining it.

"I don't see my name on there," she tells the officer.

The officer explains her name is on the document. "It's signed by a judge," he adds.

"No, it's not," she replies.

See those straps right there," the officer tells Graves, pointing at a grey seat with harnesses where DWI suspects sit to have blood drawn. "I want you to act like a lady and have a seat." Graves does not. She instead moves to grab piece of paper and walk out of the blood testing area. Graves attempts to reach a cell phone in the back of her jeans pocket, as well.

The video clearly shows she did not obey the lawman's orders. Graves remains standing and swings her elbow, striking the officer on his cheek.

That's when the officer shoves her into the chair and then punches with his balled, yanking of Graves onto the floor.

But it wasn't over.

The officer put Graves' hands behind her back, slapped her with cuffs and shoved her back in the chair.

With Graves breathing heavily, slumped in the chair, other HPD staff came into the room.

"She clocked me," the officer exclaims to the staff. "Look at the video."

More breathing from Graves. "Yea, look at the [expletive] video," she gasps. "You know what? You're going to lose your job..."

The officer: "No I'm not."

HPD told abc13 that the use of force was reviewed.

The department did not allow him to talk about the case to Ted Oberg Investigates and abc13 is not naming him because he has not been charged with a crime.

Houston Police Officer Union President Ray Hunt described the officer's actions as proper police work.

"I honestly see nothing in there that disturbs me except (I'm) a little bit shocked the officer let her go for her cell phone in her back pocket and he didn't take her down at that point," he said.

He also believed the public's reaction would likely be mixed.

"Ten Houstonians who had never seen someone belligerent with a police officer? They'd probably say, 'Wow,'" Hunt said. "Ten Houstonians who have had to see officers subdue people who were were failing to respond? They would go, 'I'm good with that.'"

District Attorney Devon Anderson said today she did not want the video released publicly.

"The reason I won't comment on it and the reason we don't want it released is that it is a pending case and we don't want to influence potential jurors," Anderson said. "There was a use of force that needs to be investigated."

A DA spokesman added the office is looking at this case vigorously.

"We are far from running away from this," he said. "We serve the public. This case will very likely be taken to a grand jury so that 12 citizens can decide if the officer should be indicted or no-billed."

Graves had no criminal history before the arrest. She may now: a DWI misdemeanor charge from the initial arrest and a felony assault for allegedly purposefully injuring that officer with her elbow. She denies both charges.

Photos taken by the HPD that night allegedly show his injury. In the photos, his cheek appears red but no other injury is evident.

"They have to knowingly prove that she intentionally and knowingly assaulted this person and that's absolutely not what happened," Graves attorney Flood said.

Graves is in the process of filing a complaint with the police's Internal Affairs Division.

She lauds law enforcement officers who patrol the streets every day. She told abc13 that she questioned only this "one officer."

This is the second such video obtained by abc13 showing behavior in the Houston drunk tank that has raised eyebrows.

On August 1, Ted Oberg Investigates reported on the case of Reuben Williams, who was handcuffed in a cell surrounded by police officers after his arrest for alleged drunk driving.

Video shows Williams struggled with officers. And the officer said in a report that Williams also spit on him. The officer then said he pushed Williams away. Williams denies spitting on the officer.

Then the video shows William's head slamming against the jail door frame.

Seconds later, Williams drops to the floor with blood from his head smearing the wall and floor of that cell deep red.

Since that report aired aired, HPD said that Williams is being sought for arrest due to open warrants related to his December 2014 arrest.