Civil Liberties

Police Recorded Beating Woman at Station

Cameras can be your friend

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A southeast Texas town with a history of racial unrest on Monday fired two white police officers recently captured on video slamming a black woman's head into a countertop and wrestling her to the ground.

"The amount of force used was abominable," the woman's attorney, Cade Bernsen, told Yahoo News.

The incident was captured by security cameras at the Jasper, Texas, police headquarters.

Keyarika "Shea" Diggles, 25, was brought to the jail on May 5 for an unpaid fine, according to Bernsen. He said she was was on the phone with her mother trying to arrange to get the $100 owed when Officer Ricky Grissom cut off the call.

There's no audio on the video, but Diggles and Grissom were apparently arguing when Officer Ryan Cunningham comes in behind Diggles and attempts to handcuff her. When she appears to raise her hand, Cunningham grabs Diggles by the hair and slams her head into a countertop. The officers wrestle Diggles to the ground before dragging her by her ankles into a jail cell.