Newly released video shows California cop throwing woman to the ground, knocking her unconscious

‘That level of violence and brutality, I can’t see how that could be justified,’ woman’s lawyer says

A newly released video shows a police officer in northern California throwing a woman to the ground, knocking her unconscious, yet another example of an aggressive police response.

A domestic call to the authorities in October 2020 ended with an officer from the Fairfield Police Department violently grabbing the woman, a video first published last week shows.

Months have now passed, but the family is still fighting legal disputes. The video shows Diana Santos’s legs fly up in the corner of the frame. She can then be seen lying unconscious on the ground.

“It was unbelievable and it kind of shattered our belief system here,” the woman’s husband, Edward Chavez, told KRON in a report published over the weekend.

He said: “We asked for help and what we got was my wife injured and my kids taken to jail.”

The family called for help from the authorities because of a domestic incident involving Ms Santos’s daughter and her boyfriend, which the family says led to the incident seen in the video.

“The help came and we thought things would be okay and the next thing you know my wife is on the floor, we thought dead,” Mr Chavez said.

John Ambrosio, Ms Santos’s lawyer, told the outlet that she’s being charged with two misdemeanours - resisting arrest and obstruction.

Mr Ambrosio said that the law firm found the video on social media but that they don’t know who was behind the camera.

“I’ve requested body camera video of the officers, however that video came to light which illustrates a lot more than I can or a police report can,” he said.

The lawyer added that they had their first hearing last week. He’s going to meet with the district attorney sometime this week, hoping that the case will be dismissed.

Ms Santos also has a civil suit in the works with another lawyer, with whom she has filed a complaint against the Fairfield Police Department.

According to KRON, she’s feeling OK but doesn’t remember the incident, explaining that she recalls the police arriving and then waking up as she was receiving medical care.

“That level of violence and brutality, I can’t see how that could be justified,” Mr Ambrosio said.

In a statement toThe Independent, the Fairfield Police Department said: “The woman who was injured had interfered with the arrest of another party and shoved officers. She then actively resisted attempts to put her in handcuffs and an officer took her to the ground.

“In the process, her head hit the pavement and she lost consciousness. Officers immediately called paramedics to the scene. The woman regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital for treatment and released. No formal external complaint was ever filed with the police department.”