CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - Mary O'Callaghan, a Los Angeles police officer, was
charged with assault Thursday for allegedly kicking a woman seven times in the
groin, abdomen and upper thigh during an arrest in which the woman ultimately
died, her attorney said.
Officer O'Callaghan, an 18-year veteran, was charged by Los Angeles County
prosecutors with felony assault under color of authority, lawyer Robert Rico
said.
"She's never had a sustained complaint of this type for anything," Rico said.
"She has an exemplary record and she's shocked by the decision of the DA's
office to file these allegations and looks forward to proving her innocence in
court."
O'Callaghan, 48, faces arraignment Tuesday and has been relieved of duty
without pay pending an administrative hearing.
The Police Commission, a civilian oversight board, reviewed the July 22, 2012
incident and issued a report concluding that O'Callaghan used unreasonable force
on Alesia Thomas, 35, when she was restrained and in the backseat of a
cruiser.
The report contained a detailed description of the incident, which was also
caught on a police car camera. The department has not released the videotape of
the incident and denied a request for a copy from The Associated Press, citing
the ongoing investigation.
According to the report, video shows Thomas' "eyes roll back and her body
roll toward the driver's seat" before officers reported that she appeared
unconscious. Thomas didn't appear to be breathing when she was removed from the
back seat. She arrived at the hospital in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced
dead by a doctor there.
An autopsy found that Thomas had cocaine in her system when she went into
cardiac arrest, but left her cause of death as "undetermined" because the
struggle couldn't be excluded as a contributing factor. Thomas, who had a
history of bipolar disorder, had no internal injuries or bruising, according to
the coroner's report.
O'Callaghan was one of several officers involved in the incident, but the
only one whose actions were found to violate department policies. None of the
other officers were identified by name in the commission's report.
The altercation between Thomas and authorities occurred after officers
tracked her to her South Los Angeles apartment to arrest her on suspicion of
child endangerment. Police said she'd abandoned her 3-year-old and 12-year-old
children at a police station in the middle of the night because she was a drug
addict and couldn't care for them. Officers at the station learned the children
expected their grandmother to pick them up.
The visit to Thomas' home quickly escalated into a prolonged struggle as
officers tried to take the 228-pound Thomas into custody while she had cocaine
in her system and appeared "fidgety, wide eyed, sweating" and later
"incoherent," even asking officers to let her go and telling them on several
occasions to kill her, the commission report states.
When O'Callaghan arrived on the scene, the officers were trying to place
Thomas in the backseat of the patrol car. O'Callaghan allegedly repeatedly used
profanity while trying to get Thomas into the car and secure her in the backseat
while Thomas continued to struggle, kicking her legs toward the window and at
O'Callaghan.
Thomas complained of being unable to breathe at one point, but the reports
states the officers said they didn't hear her.
The commission specifically noted O'Callaghan's "apparent indifference" to
Thomas, but wasn't able to determine whether O'Callaghan deliberately kicked
Thomas or was just using her foot to push her into the car. But they determined
that the decision to use her foot or leg to move Thomas into the cruiser was
"ineffective and inappropriate."
Prosecutors declined to file a charge of involuntary manslaughter, citing
insufficient evidence to prove that the conduct caused Thomas' death, according
to a press release from the district attorney's office.
The assault charge is punishable by up to three years in state prison,
prosecutors said.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is part of a team of attorneys representing
Thomas' children in a suit against the LAPD, said he still had not seen the
video of the incident despite repeated requests.
"It is unconscionable that in this day and age LAPD officers would treat a
person like they treated her," Crump said. "This further reignites our demand to
release that firsthand eyewitness account that is the surveillance video. We
demand it. The truth is going to come out."
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement that the department worked
closely with the district attorney's office on preparing and filing this case.
He called the case troubling but said it demonstrated that the department "will
hold our officers accountable for their actions."
As for the other officers involved, three have been placed on non-field
assignments at other stations and an internal investigation is ongoing regarding
potential misconduct. A fourth was allowed to return to the field after it was
determined that the officer's role was minor.
