Video Shows Cop Punching Teen During Arrest
WSB-TV
Fri October 5, 2007
Area: West Palm Beach, Ft. Pierce
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - A controversy is brewing in South Florida over a dash-camera video showing a Fort Pierce, Florida, police officer punching a 15-year-old girl while she is resisting arrest, reported WPBF-TV.
The tape indicates Fort Pierce police Officer Daniel Gilroy turned on his dash-camera and recorded the arrest of 15-year-old Shelwand Riley, who police said was violating curfew and acting suspiciously. She was allegedly carrying a garbage bag full of new clothes with tags still attached, WPBF reported.
Riley's aunt, Gloria Smith, said the tape shows police brutality and excessive force, even though her niece bit the arresting officer on the arm.
"Well, she did that after his aggressive behavior. He never stated why he was apprehending her. Her rights were never read to her; she was violated all the way," Smith said.
The videotape shows Gilroy punching Riley with his fist and spraying her with pepper spray after she bit him.
The tape indicates that Riley was placed into the back seat of an officer's patrol vehicle and officers attempted to wash off the pepper spray using a bottle of water.
Riley appeared in court this week represented by a public defender, who refused to comment on the case. The teen pleaded not guilty to a resisting-arrest charge.
According to court documents, the case is expected to go to trial in November, where a judge will decide whether the officer used excessive force in the arrest.
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