A New Orleans police officer has been fired following an investigation by the Public Integrity Bureau concerning “unauthorized force” used on a juvenile girl in a holding cell.
Officer Terrance Saulny can be seen in video footage entering the holding cell after the 16-year-old girl can be seen repeatedly kicking the door. He appears to hit her several times with restraints as he takes her to the ground before another officer arrives to assist him in getting handcuffs onto the facedown girl.
Although her injuries were minor, the girl required an eye surgery and may need to have another surgery, according to the family’s attorney, Michael Hall.
The girl’s mother said that she suffered from mental illness and had not taken her medicine, and during her arrest, she cursed at officers, tried to kick out the windows of the arresting officer’s police car and refused to comply with police directives.
Saulny said that he entered the cell to prevent her from hurting herself as she kicked the door but that he became worried for his safety when she refused to comply with his directives.
“He stated he felt threatened, so he just pushed her to the left,” the record shows. “He attempted to grab her arm and tried to put shackles on her and when she resisted by pulling away he tried grabbing her again and her arms went up and the shackles accidentally hit one of her arms.”
Immediately after the incident, Saulny contacted his supervisor, who determined that he “may have exhibited a level of force that could be constituted as exceeding the necessary tactics taught by the New Orleans Police Academy instructors to contain (the girl) during her episode of non-compliance.”
“Any evaluation of reasonableness must allow for the fact that officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation,” the supervisor, Hudson Cutno wrote, “with limited information and in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving.”