KICKED TO CURB
Shock moment cop kicks female protester to the ground after she’s maced in face – but officer WON’T face charges
SHOCKING video shows the moment a cop kicked a female protester after she was maced during a Black lives Matter demonstration - but the officer won't be charged.
Hannah Silbaugh, 21, was booted in the shoulder by the Erie Police officer as she sat on the curb with her hands covering her face during a protest in Pennsylvania on May 30.
8
8
Despite the disturbing footage, the officer won't face criminal charges because his actions didn't warrant prosecution, Eric County District Attorney Jack Daneri said at a press conference.
He argued that the officer, who city officials have yet to identify, had the right to use that level of force against Silbaugh given the circumstances, reported.
Daneri also pointed out that at the time the 21-year-old protester was kicked, other officers and a law enforcement vehicle needed to get by a line of protesters to respond to more serious violence nearby.
The protesters could have been charged with failure to disperse, but Erie cops declined to file charges in the interest of moving forward, Daneri claimed, according to the Philly Tribune.
In the video filmed on May 30, the unnamed cop is seen approaching Silbaugh as she sits in the middle of the street during a peaceful rally at Perry Square.
The peaceful demonstrations began at around 6pm in Pennsylvania but quickly turned violent, prompting police to assemble a SWAT team at roughly 9:30pm to disperse the protesters.
8
8
8
Silbaugh was one of those demonstrators, and she told the following day she peacefully rallied alone.
"I was peacefully protesting and was doing a non-compliant but nonviolent protest," she told the news outlet.
Although she wasn't able to make it for the peaceful part of the rally, the crowd was rowdy when she arrived at 8pm.
Silbaugh said she was kicked sometime after 11:30pm as she sat in the middle of State Street with her hands up in the air.
"When I started sitting on the ground, that's when they started to Mace me," she said.
"When I wouldn't move, that's when cops kicked me. I fell to the ground (from a seated position).
"They used that opportunity when my hands were away from my eyes to continue to Mace me directly in the face."
Silbaugh, whose lawyer filed a complaint on her behalf in early June, also claimed that cops threatened to tase her before she got up and ran away.
Mayor Joe Schember on June 15 and said he would remain on desk duty until he completed sensitivity training.
8
8
8
MOST READ IN NEWS
In a similar case, an Indiana woman was after she was and injured them.
Christi Bennett was charged with criminal recklessness for flinging a 29-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man off her car as they rallied in support of a Black activist who said on July 4.
The 66-year-old was booked into the Monroe County Jail on Wednesday night, but was later released after posting bail and surety.
Shock moment car runs down protesters of ‘attempted lynching’ and speeds off with screaming woman on hood
Topics