LAPD officer charged with assault in woman's arrest

[jsr]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-officer-charged-kicking-woman-assault-fatal-20131010,0,611060.story

LAPD officer charged with assault in woman's arrest
By Richard Winton
October 10, 2013, 12:52 p.m.

An LAPD officer has been charged with assaulting a woman under color of authority by kicking her in the groin during an arrest last year, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced Thursday.

LAPD Officer Mary O’Callaghan, 48, was charged Wednesday in connection with the July 22, 2012, incident that ended with the death of Alesia Thomas.

O'Callaghan was one of several officers sent to Thomas' home in the 9100 block of South Broadway Avenue to investigate allegations that Thomas had abandoned her children after they were left at a local police station.

O’Callaghan arrived at the scene to assist the arresting officers in placing Thomas in a patrol car. While Thomas was in handcuffs and leg restraints, prosecutors said, a police cruiser’s video camera captured the veteran officer kicking Thomas in the stomach and groin area and pushing her in the throat.

[joeybee12]

1. Lock her up and throw away the key! nt

[HooptieWagon]

2. These bad cops should get jail time....

...general population.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

5. "Prison" time.

[KansDem]

3. News report and video from KTLA-5

[kestrel91316]

4. Assault? EFFING ASSAULT?????? The woman DIED.

She should be charged with nothing less than murder.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

7. Sometimes an assault in connection with a death can sustain a manslaughter conviction.

While my preference would be for a conviction of more than just assault, some prosecutors will not charge a person for a crime if they do not believe that all the elements can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

The question for the prosecutor is whether he can select a jury with 12 people who would each agree that the drugs in her system did not cause her death but that the kicks to her groin and stomach did. 12 people. A random selection of 12 people on DU might not even result in unanimity on the issue. What pool of 12 people could agree that kicks to a groin and stomach, no matter how repugnant, would result in death. How many people have life experiences in which they even heard rumors of such an attack causing a death.

The kicks didn't help. But even a fresh-out-of-law-school-defense-attorney would probably want to select a jury, and get a minimum of one person, who has not had that experience.

[Blue_Tires]

8. The cynic in me is surprised the police department didn't cover it up completely....

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. She needed help. That's why she went to the police station.

From the article:

"Initially, police reported that Thomas was attempting to surrender" her "children to police custody because she felt she could no longer care for them properly."