Miami officer convicted in violent arrest of black woman called police for help

MIAMI – It took a grand jury just over an hour to convict a Miami-Dade officer of felony and official misconduct in the brutal arrest of a black woman who called the police for help.

Alejandro Giraldo was suspended after a mobile phone video went viral on social media in March 2019 showing him handling Dyma Loving, who called police to report that a neighbor had pointed a shotgun at her. Police cameras also recorded the encounter.

“Police officers can lay hands on people to make a lawful arrest. If the arrest is against the law, they have no more rights than the rest of us. And he certainly couldn’t drag her to the ground,” said prosecutor Tim VanderGiesen.

Giraldo insists he acted lawfully by subduing an unruly woman who was interfering with the investigation.

“What you see is not sinful. What you see is a cop working on the street, dealing with a situation and maybe his bed position is gone,” his lawyer, Andre Rouviere, told the waiters. judge. “When he caught Dyma Loving, it was after warning after warning that she was causing trouble.”

Giraldo, who is of Hispanic descent, faces five years in prison. The jury consisted of two Black women, one Hispanic woman and three Hispanic men.

The video has sparked outrage in a county where at least nine officers from four different police agencies are awaiting trial on allegations they beat the suspect while on duty. Miami Herald reported. Three other officers have been acquitted since 2019 in the rape cases.

The conviction of North Miami police officer Jonathon Aledda was overturned by an appeals court in February. He fired his weapon at an autistic man with a silver toy truck, and hit the man’s carer. Prosecutors have refused to retry the case.

In Giraldo’s case, the video shows him pushing Loving against the fence and then bringing her to the ground, where she was handcuffed. Loving was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. Those fees were later repealed.

Prosecutors said the arrest report incorrectly stated that Loving had “caused the scene” and was “uncooperative.”

Giraldo’s defense attorney countered that Loving and another woman present at the scene had lost control.

“We thought we had established that they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt about the charges, but I guess the jury looked at it differently, and we have to accept the verdict. jury decision,” Rouviere said after Giraldo was sentenced on Thursday.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here