Woman seen in video being beaten by California Highway Patrol officer: He tried to kill me, and I want him fired
Marlene Pinnock talks about the July 1 freeway beating that was caught on cellphone video. (Credit: KTLA)
LOS ANGELES, Calif – A violent arrest caught on video, posted on YouTube for the world to see and now the woman at the center of the video is telling her story.
Marlene Pinnock, 51, spoke to KTLA-TV Sunday and shared her outrage about the frightening ordeal.
It happened July 1st along 10 Freeway near La Brea Avenue. A passing motorist captured video showing the woman being repeatedly punched in the face and upper body by a California Highway Patrol officer. The officer is seen in the video straddling the woman.
“He tried to kill me, and I want him fired,” Marlene Pinnock told KTLA on Sunday.
The video shows the beating lasted for at least 15 seconds.
Pinnock said as it was happening she thought the officer was going to kill her.
“’ He must be trying to kill me, he’s beating me to death… can I get up?’” she said, adding “I was trying to pull my clothing down…he wouldn’t allow me to pull my clothing down.”
In a recently filed civil rights lawsuit, Pinnock claimed that the officer ripped her dress, displaying her naked buttocks to the slow-moving traffic.
Pinnock also said she feared for her life.
“I was scared for my life, cause he just wouldn’t stop beating me,” Pinnock said. “I didn’t know when he was going to stop.”
The CHP has not released the officer’s identity and officials say an investigation into the incident was ongoing.