San Francisco BART Cops Slam Woman To Ground, Break Her Teeth; She Sues For Excessive Force [Graphic Video]

A San Francisco woman is suing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police for slamming her to the ground and knocking her teeth out during an arrest last September.

A new video shows 28-year-old Megan Sheehan, bartender and model, being thrown to the ground so violently it could be heard on audio, then she’s left to lie unconscious in a pool of her own blood.

Shehan’s attorney told CBS SF Bay Area the officer’s action was unwarranted.

We don’t see Megan Sheehan trying to punch the officer several times in the face. We don’t see her doing anything that would cause any officer to believe she was an imminent threat that requires this kind of force. … What we see is, without any of this happening, two officers held back Megan Sheehan’s arms and threw her face first to the ground.

The video was captured on police body cameras and on jail surveillance video.

As Sheehan was being processed in the booking area she removed her hair tie and threw it at the officer before trying to punch him in the face.

The officer, Noland Pianta, told the San Francisco Chronicle he used an arm bar take down and guided her to the ground, which is at odds with the video.

“To protect myself from her attack and to stop her attack on me. I used an arm bar takedown and guided her to the ground. Upon guiding her to the ground, she landed on her face and appeared to go unconscious.”

BART police initially found a drunk Sheehan outside the Lake Merritt station, which she thought was in downtown San Francisco, almost 13 miles away. She had apparently boarded the wrong train after her shift bartending on St. Patrick’s Day.

After her arrest, while she was being transported to jail, Sheehan urinated on herself and tried to wipe herself on Pianta’s pants.

Sheehan’s attorney, Lizabeth de Vries told the San Francisco Chronicle the officer acted inappropriately.

“I think the officer acted out of spite. I think he was extremely upset about feeling disrespected by the fact that my client threw the hair tie at him. I think he reacted in a way that was completely disproportionate to the facts and circumstances presented to him.”

The lawsuit alleging excessive BART police comes as San Francisco law enforcement is under increased scrutiny.

San Francisco police officers have been accused of sending a series of racist and homophobic texts prompting hearings by the department.

A San Francisco task force is also under investigation for arresting only black people during a drug sting.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]