Civil rights activists called today for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate a California Highway Patrol officer’s violent arrest of a homeless woman who was seen on cell phone video being repeatedly punched after being caught walking barefoot along the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.
The video, shot by a motorist on July 1, shows the officer atop Marlene Pinnock, delivering at least nine blows to the 51-year-old woman’s head.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Roundtable said it was a conflict of interest to have the state Attorney General’s Office investigate the arrest, because it would be one state agency investigating another.
Pinnock’s daughter, Maisha Allums, joined Danny Bakewell, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, and other activists at news conference calling for an independent federal investigation.
Pinnock, who remains hospitalized, was put on a 72-hour psychiatric hold — something available to law enforcement officers when a person appears to be danger to themselves or others — and held involuntarily for a mental evaluation following her arrest.
Attorneys and one of Pinnock’s daughters claimed family members were unable to find Pinnock for five days after her arrest, because she was signed in at a hospital under an alias.
Several CHP officials, including Commissioner Joe Farrow, have met with family members and activists since the arrest, but Bakewell complained that CHP officials were not forthcoming with information.
“We don’t know the name of the officer. We don’t know the whereabouts of the officer. He’s been taken completely out of circulation, and that is not right,” Bakewell said. “This is our sister … and next week we want to make sure it’s not us.”
Allums said her mother had a number of bumps and bruises and was scheduled to undergo an MRI scan this afternoon.
At 2:30 p.m., attorneys for Pinnock plan to further discuss the case outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital Mental Health Facility at 1720 E. 120th St., where Pinnock is being treated.
The arrest occurred along eastbound lanes of the 10 Freeway near the La Brea Avenue offramp. Pinnock was walking barefoot along the shoulder and occasionally in traffic lanes, according to the CHP. When Pinnock did not respond to orders to stop, the officer got out and confronted her. The woman became combative, prompting the officer to place her under arrest, CHP officials said.
About the time the officer stopped punching Pinnock, an off-duty law enforcement officer showed up and helped handcuff Pinnock.
Pinnock, a mother of two who has fallen on hard times, apparently had been living under the freeway in the area from some time. According to published reports, she has been arrested more than a dozen times since 2008.
