Miami officer arrested after pinning knee on woman’s neck, using Taser
The ex-cop lied in his report on the incident and charged the woman with battery of a cop and resisting with violence
An officer from Miami Gardens has been charged after he allegedly assaulted a Black woman outside of a strip club by pinning a knee into her neck.
An officer from Miami Gardens has been charged after he allegedly assaulted a Black woman outside of a strip club.
The officer, Jordy Yanes Martel, was seen on video tasing 33-year-old Safiya Satchell. He is seen putting his knee in her neck and tasing her twice in her stomach.
READ MORE: Vote to remove the knees on our necks
In the video, shared by The Miami Herald, Satchell is irate with officers challenging them, “If you want to pull me out of the car, or whatever, then whatever.”
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6buxwQax07vR9Y740tPa7x
The officer does indeed pull her out of the car, and Martel is seen kneeling on her neck and tasing her in her stomach.
WARNING VIDEO HAS GRAPHIC CONTENT:
BREAKING UPDATE: This video, as have similar clips of police brutality across the country, is jarring and on Thursday spurred state authorities to arrest now-fired Officer Jordy Yanes Martel on charges of battery. https://t.co/sUDq5CzNff
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) June 25, 2020
Martel arrested and charged the woman, who according to Forbes was pregnant, with battery of a cop and resisting with violence — charges that have since been dismissed.
Since the video was released, Martel has been charged with battery and official misconduct. He was also charged for falsifying details to the report that he filed regarding the incident.
Katherine Fernández Rundle (screenshot from Miami Herald)
“As a result of Martel’s actions, Ms. Satchel suffered abrasions to her stomach from the Tasers, bruises, and abrasions on her arms, and bruises on her legs,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle said Thursday afternoon. “By filing these criminal charges today against former Miami Gardens officer Jordy Yanes Martel, we are saying that these actions are just plain wrong.”
Satchell has obtained an attorney, Jonathan Jordan, who said, “If you’re an officer that has broken policy or acted under color of law with a belief that Black lives don’t matter, you ought to be looking over your shoulder because the chickens have finally come home to roost.”
Jordan said that he is seeking justice for his client that has been denied to so many others.
The Miami gardens cop dragged Safiya Satchell out of her car, knelt on her neck and began using a taser on her.
She was pregnant and lost the child.The cop got the sack.
The violence continues.#AbolishThePolice(Major CW on that video) pic.twitter.com/AhotoAoHKw
— Anarchist ?Federation ❤? (@AnarchistFed) June 26, 2020
Despite what some on social media have alleged, it is not known whether or not the incident caused her to lose her child.
It is important to note what happened before she was tased.
Satchell seemed to have been in a dispute regarding her food order at a particular club she was patronizing. When she was about to leave, she threw money at the waitress. The club manager called Martel, who was working there off duty.
Once Martel arrived at the scene, he was unable to de-escalate the incident.
After the incident with the waitress, Satchell left and was sitting in the driver’s seat of her Mercedes-Benz. This is where she was approached by Martel who then pulled her from the car, tasing and detaining her.
Martel has been fired from his job as a Miami Gardens police officer and was also involved in a use-of-force arrest last year.
READ MORE: California police kill unarmed man who was kneeling with hands up
“I’m not one of those folks that’s going to tell you we don’t need police. We do need police,” Miami Gardens mayor, Oliver Gilbert said.
“I’m one of those folks that’s going to tell you that we give police officers professional salaries, we train, and we give them professional standards. If they violate those professional standards, then we will terminate them.”
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