STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Police Department released body camera video of what they say is an officer being punched in the face.
However, community leaders are describing the entire incident as frustrating.
The footage comes from an incident from Wednesday, Sept. 30. In the footage, officers have responded to a call of a domestic fight.
Police say a woman had allegedly been punched in the face by her mother’s boyfriend. Police say when officers arrived, a female officer approached the woman who then assaulted the officer, even grabbing the officer’s hair.
“It’s frustrating on both parts because there are just way too many dynamics to be able to unpack everything that you see taking place,” Tony McNeil, a community organizer with Faith in Valley, said.
McNeil said she watched each of the three body camera video angles released by police.
“At the end of the day, law enforcement is paid to de-escalate situations. Community members do not go through de-escalation training,” McNeil said.
Stockton Police released this statement saying they have “obtained cellphone video that was posted on social media from an arrest that occurred on September 30, 2020 in the 1600 block of E. 12th Street. The cellphone video does not capture the full incident, so we are providing body worn camera footage to give more context related to the actions of our officers. This incident is under administrative review.”
“What I can say is that the more law enforcement spends time in a community, getting to know the community and knowing the people in that neighborhood that they are serving in on a regular basis, the least likely you are going to see situations like this unfold in that way,” McNeil said.
Continue the conversation with Chris on Facebook.