Baltimore County PoliceAn investigation is underway after bodycam footage emerged showing a 76-year-old grandmother being body slammed by a cop.
Baltimore County Police Corporal Brennan can be seen grabbing Rena Mellerson before dragging her outside in the controversial clip which was filmed on January 10.
Then officer Schmidt is seen grabbing the elderly woman by the torso and throwing her on the ground.
Check it out here:
Officers say they were forced to use tasers in a bid to gain access to the grandmother’s home, when they were trying to arrest her granddaughter, Cierra Floyd, for disorderly conduct.
In the video, you can hear the officer telling Mellerson:
The reason I put you on the ground, mam, was because I saw taser probes in you, he tried to tase you, and I was seeing that you were the immediate threat at the time.
Okay. I just wanted to get you out of the way… no hard feelings… nothing personal.
In addition to the bodycam footage, police also released the audio of the original 911 call which caused officers to rush to the scene.
A woman had called to say a boy was being violent to people in the area, and the woman can be heard telling authorities she has a knife.
Baltimore County family asks why 76 year old woman was thrown to the ground by county police during arrest. Unarmed. Police say she interfered with arrest of her granddaughter on charge of disorderly conduct. On video: pic.twitter.com/icR0iCzbDL
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) January 13, 2020
The woman said:
He’s trying to hurt people. I will cut this little boy, somebody better come f*cking get him.
When police arrived at the scene, they allegedly found Floyd and another woman shouting, before Floyd retreated to her grandmother’s house.
Mellerson was charged with interfering with an arrest, however an investigation has now been launched after the video of her being body slammed went viral.
According to WBAL, the grandmother wasn’t seriously injured, but was arrested and taken into custody.
Floyd was also arrested on Friday and charged with similar violations as her grandmother as well as disorderly conduct.
Mellerson’s daughter, Barbara, told WBAL:
My mother is a 76-year-old woman, lives alone, minds her business, never broke the law. She doesn’t even have a moving violation.
For her to go through something like this is ridiculous, and every time she thinks about it, she starts shaking. I had to take my mother to the hospital.
A video that was recently released by a citizen has garnered concern by the public as well as the Baltimore County Police Department. Please read below for the full statement from @ChiefMHyatt pic.twitter.com/okhRLOdHuQ
— Baltimore County Police Department (@BaltCoPolice) January 14, 2020
Baltimore County police chief Melissa Hyatt later released a statement on social media that read:
A video that revealed a portion of an interaction between Baltimore County Police Department officers and two individuals Friday afternoon has garnered public attention and concern. The video is unsettling to watch and raises concerns.
I have ordered a thorough investigation of the incident in its entirety. Part of the review includes viewing body-worn camera footage of the entire incident, along with interviews and review of other documentation.
Upon the completion of this expedited investigation, the body-worn camera footage will be released.
She went on to thank the member of the public who recorded the incident.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.