(Reuters) – A former Miami police officer was charged Thursday with assault and misconduct after a video appeared showing him pressing his knee to a black woman’s neck and savoring her stomach, while she continued to scream, according to US media reports.
Jordi Martel, 30, was charged with official misconduct for filing two reports with false details about the incident that took place outside a strip club on January 14, state attorney Katherine Rundle said at a press conference.
Martel and another officer, Jaiver Castano, were fired last week, although the Miami Gardens Police Department has not said why they were fired, according to the Miami Herald newspaper.
Video of the incident, filmed by a passerby, showed Martel dragging Safiya Satchell, 33, out of her car and then forcing her to fall onto the side of the road.
The video clip showed that Martel stunned her twice with a Taser, a weapon that produces an electric shock. Another officer held Satchell’s arm as she struggled to free herself.
The United States has been witnessing widespread protests against racism and police brutality since the death of a black man, George Floyd, last month in Minneapolis police custody after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Report by Maria Ponnezhath in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
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