A federal lawsuit has been launched against several police officers from Coldwater, Michigan.

The woman behind the suit, Tiffany McNeil, alleges that after she was handcuffed by police, that she was slammed to the ground while in their custody and in the presence of several officers at the county jail. The security camera at the jail captured the incident.

McNeil was arrested in the summer after her husband allegedly called the police during an argument, there are also claims made that McNeil had been drinking alcohol. She says that she was knocked unconscious and didn't remember what had happened; that it was a nurse at the jail hospital who suggested she should go look for the video footage of the incident.

After seeing what took place, McNeil says she was devastated with their behavior and that she couldn't believe that a law enforcement officer had done this to her.

The incident in question was allegedly caught on camera and shows one officer violently assaulting McNeil and slamming her to the ground. Officers claim that she was resisting arrest, while the suit is arguing that the officers are guilty of using excessive force as well as lying about the official story and more.

As a result of the assault, it's alleged that McNeil suffered at least 17 stitches to repair a cut over her eye, as well as a concussion. The suit claims that at least 3 different parties lied about what took place in their official police reports.

They aren't the only ones named either, the lawsuit also names roughly a dozen others who allegedly witnessed the event, including department supervisors; they're listed as defendants. McNeil is seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages.

At the moment it's alleged that city officials are reviewing the incident and the related lawsuit.

For McNeil, according to her lawyer she's already been charged with a felony for resisting a police officer and domestic violence, though officials have since dropped their resisting charge. The suit also claims that McNeil was charged with a felony as an effort to try and pressure her into a plea bargain and to try and justify the officer's behavior.

There is no doubt that police officers around the country need to face some of the worst scenarios that many of us don't want to entertain ourselves thinking about. They see the worst of the worst at times and that can easily harden a person as a way for them to try and deal with the job. But this sort of violence shows a lack of control, professionalism, and intelligence on their part.

Hitting the problem doesn't always make it go away, or prevent it from happening again. And sometimes it just makes it a lot worse. It can be annoying to deal with a drunken person who is yelling at you or even struggling to go along with your commands in a timely manner, but that doesn't justify smashing their face into the ground to try and shut them up.

This behavior promotes an atmosphere of lawlessness and it fuels the wrong impression that officers can or should act with impunity when carrying out their official duties. Regardless of someones economic background, their age, whether they are drunk or sober etc, we can only hope that those who task themselves with enforcing the law will try to conduct themselves in a more professional manner.

Pics:
Pixabay
via Fox2
pixabay

Sources:
http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/woman-sues-coldwater-police-after-bloody-arrest-video-they-say-she-resisted
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/injured-woman-accuses-coldwater-police-of-disgusting-thug-like-conduct-in-jail-incident/499101301
https://www.wxyz.com/news/woman-sues-coldwater-police-department-after-she-sees-surveillance-video-of-arrest
https://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/12/12/coldwater-police-excessive-force-lawsuit/945390001/
http://wtvbam.com/news/articles/2017/dec/13/woman-files-suit-against-coldwater-police/

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