Police brutality has become a serious issue over the past few years, particularly when it comes to authorities and their encounters with the African American community. Well, the latest run-in — we mean that in the most literal sense — went down with a Miami cop and an unarmed Black woman during spring break on Ocean Drive.
As shown in a video that's been going viral over the past few days, the girl and the cop can both be seen running in the midst of what looks like a street fight. What occurred next could've probably been laughed off if not for the officer's response afterwards, as both parties literally collided into each other in their individual pursuits. After the cop gained his footing, for an unnecessary reason he then proceeded to push the woman back down to the ground, which caused her to react by slightly kicking him back. The officer then proceeds to choke her — at this point he completely forgot about why he was running in the first place — then placed her in handcuffs as his backup comes to surround the situation and spray onlookers with what appears to be pellets.
Here's how Local 10 News sums up the whole situation:
Police wouldn’t identify the woman in the video, but of the nine arrest reports obtained by Local 10 from that same evening, 19-year-old Jaises Elam, identified as a student from Detroit, appears to be the woman in the video.
In the arrest affidavit, it states that Miami Beach Police were responding to the 900 block of Ocean Drive in reference to officers needing assistance due to several patrons fighting. One officer who was running to the scene witnessed a woman punching a police vehicle multiple times while shouting an expletive. When she saw police officers, she began to run. The officer began to chase her southbound on Ocean Drive.
The police officer who collided with Elam said he was assisting the officer in the chase and that Elam was “also chasing (the first officer) in an attempt to obstruct him from making an arrest."
The officer later added in his official report, "As I got up, I attempted to catch up with the (other officer) to assist with the arrest. Ms. Elam quickly turned towards me and violently kicked me with both feet. I subdued Ms. Elam by holding her to the ground until other police officers arrive. Ms. Elam was soon arrested without further incident.”
Whether or not this called for her to be choked to the ground is arguable, but there's just got to be better ways for authorities to handle situations like this. Many people on social media, like activist Shaun King, expressed anger at what appeared to be yet another example of police brutality.
Watch the video below and let us know if you think the cop was exhibiting excessive force or if the kick warranted his response: