CHP officer accused of beating homeless woman named in lawsuit

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A new federal lawsuit names the alleged California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer who was caught on video beating a homeless woman on the 10 Freeway on-ramp in July.

The victim, identified as 51-year-old Marlene Mardella Pinnock, added more information to her initial complaint that alleged her civil rights were violated. The new documents include the accused officer’s name and say she will now be seeking compensatory damages.

The modified complaint now names Daniel L. Andrew as the officer, reports CBS Los Angeles’ Jeff Nguyen.

Caree Harper, Pinnock’s lawyer, told the media that she learned the name of the officer from a detention form which was signed D. Andrew.

Apparently, the piece of writing was all the evidence that they needed. A spokesperson had earlier told Nguyen that the alleged officer has been part of the department for a year and a half.

Pinnock says that, prior to the incident, Andrew approached her and called her by her name, having met her on prior occasions. She said that she became frightened because he was “acting arrogant” with her. She then left the area and heard no commands from the officer.

When she left, she was violently thrown by the defendant on the ground. The officer then hit her “in my temples with all the strength he had,” said Pinnock. The officer in question then purposely ripped her dress to expose her buttocks to passersby on the freeway.

In her complaint, Pinnock says that she remains in fear of the officer and his colleagues and is afraid that they will go out of their way to harm her. Pinnock also added that the officer told lies in his report where he said that she was “combative.”

The CHP said that they could not comment on the details of the case but released the following statement:

The purpose of any investigation is to gather the evidence and facts of an incident.  If an incident involves the claim of injuries to any of the parties involved, facts pertinent to that investigation would include injuries that were sustained.  Documents — such as copies of medical records — would be relevant to the investigation.

In her complaint, Pinnock also alleges that David Diaz, the man who videotaped the incident, was intimidated by an investigator known as S. Taketa.

Pinnock still remains in the hospital, where she is receiving medical care. The officer, on the other hand, has been given desk duty.