The California Highway Patrol just reached a $1.5 million settlement with the woman beaten at the hands of CHP officer Daniel Andrew. Video of the beating became viral last July when 51 year old Marlene Pinnock was apprehended by a CHP officer on the 10 freeway. Andrew, an officer with only two years of experience, was seen punching Pinnock while mounting her after she fell to the ground. The video shows that Pinnock never provoked or attacked the officer.
CHP Officer Beating Woman
Pinnock spent a month in the hospital following the attack. She has been diagnosed with bi polar disorder.
The CHP logs stated that she was physically combative, which prompted Officer Andrew to use force. However, as seen in the video, there is no evidence of her ever attacking the officer. Pinnock was merely walking away and fell down covering her face upon being apprehended by the officer. Officer Andrew then went on the offensive by striking her several times aiming for her head.
If the Officer was trying to arrest her, why would he punch her in the head? There was no logical basis for his actions, which explains why the CHP settled at such a high dollar amount. They knew that if this was taken to a jury the verdict could have been potentially more money in punitive damages.
CHP also agreed to have the officer resign. However, several civil rights activists have called for criminal prosecution. Apparently the case file has been sitting on the District Attorney’s desk for around five weeks. Perhaps news of the settlement will influence the District Attorney’s decision whether to file criminal charges.
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Disclaimer: This blog post, and other blog posts by me, are not meant to be legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will be formed by these blog posts.
