The woman was charged with third degree assault.
Photo: Chet Strange/Getty Images
Authorities reported that A Loveland, Colorado, police officer was fired after he allegedly punched a handcuffed woman who reportedly spat at him in the examination room of a hospital.
In body camera footage of the May 20 incident, shared Friday by the Loveland Police Department, the woman curses at Officer Russell Maranto as she is escorted to a chair.
The video is heard as the woman utters various insults towards the officer, including a “piece of m—”. When Maranto takes a piece of paper from her hand, she seems to get angrier at her.
“Hey, fuck, give it back to me, you fucking piece of shit. Hey, I can have it. Why can’t I have a piece of paper?” she says.
Footage shows the woman, identified as Angelia Hall, 59, spitting towards the ground as she continues to demand the paper back. She continues to scream before spitting at the officer.
In the video, Maranto punches the woman in the face. A second officer steps in and stands between the two.
The woman then yells that she wants a video of the officer allegedly beating her.
“He fucking punched me in the face. I want a video of that. Do not touch it. My hands are cuffed… I can’t even fight back,” she said.
In a statement made Friday, Police Chief Tim Doran praised the second officer for stepping in, saying the officers were “verbally harassed with excessive profanity and periodic racial slurs.”
Doran said a supervisor was called to the exam room and the incident was reported immediately.
“Loveland, our police department is full of courageous, respectful and honorable public servants and We all agree that your department will never tolerate or minimize inappropriate conduct.“, said.
The district attorney’s office is still considering criminal charges against the 28-year-old Maranto, police said.
Besides, Hall was charged with third degree assault.
At the time of the incident, Maranto had been with the department for less than a year.
The police department came under fire in 2020 when a former officer injured an elderly woman with dementia during an arrest. The officer, Austin Hopp, pleaded guilty to charges related to the June 26, 2020 arrest of Karen Garner and was sentenced to five years in prison.
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