Police brutality allegations were prompted when a police officer slammed a teen’s face onto a hospital floor. The young woman suffered significant injuries, including trauma to the head, face, jaw, and teeth. She also sustained concussion, migraine headaches, cognitive and memory function problems, closed head injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.)
The allegation of police brutality involves Colorado Springs Police Officer Tyler Walker and 18-year-old Alexis Akers.
According to a report by Colorado Springs Independent , Officer Walker and Alexis crossed paths when officers were dispatched to a disturbance involving a gun at Acker’s apartment on the night of Nov. 21, 2013.
Police officers found no probable cause, but they did find Alexis Acker intoxicated and her boyfriend, 19-year-old Tyrin Tanks.
According to Officer Walker’s report, Acker was “intoxicated and verbally uncooperative with police,” and became “physically combative” when officers arrested Tanks who had an outstanding warrant.
Acker allegedly kicked at police officers, until they pinned her down on a sofa. They arrested Acker on multiple charges, including assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Police note that Alexis continued to resist while she was being walked to a police cruiser.
Police Officer Walker was 29 years old, 6-foot-3, and about 210 pounds at that time. In his report, Walker says he “easily” got physical control of Acker, noting that she was 5-foot-4 height and weighed about 110 pounds.
Officer Walker said in his report that he drove Acker to Memorial Hospital to get a medical clearance before taking her to jail “due to her intoxication level and combative nature.”
The police officer wrote in his report what happened as he drove Acker to the hospital.
“[Acker] remained verbally aggressive, continually yelling obscenities towards police and my personal life. She yelled statements such as, ‘I hope you and your wife can never have any children because you’re a stupid f**king cop.’”
When Officer Walker and Acker arrived at the hospital, he told Acker to sit down. When she refused, he “pushed her down into the chair.” Walker’s report claims the teen immediately kicked him “in the groin area.”
Police Officer Anthony Carey, who was called to the hospital later, wrote in his report that Walker “escorted Ms. Acker to the floor.”
Opposing Views’ coverage cites Sgt. Mary Walsh, who, though not present during the hospital incident involving alleged police brutality, claimed that Walker “rolled (Acker) out of the chair to the floor.”
On the other hand, Office Walker stated he felt “immediate pain” and “forcefully threw Ms. Acker face down on the ground,” while he held her in a pinned position.
Walker wrote the following in his report.
“It was then evident that I had caused her injury and knocked out her front tooth while throwing her on to the hard linoleum hospital floor, while her hands [were] still handcuffed behind her back.”
Officer Walker added, “After my adrenalin wore off,” he started to feel pain in his left knee, an injury he suffered by throwing Acker down, so he filed a Preliminary Accident Form and a Response to Aggression Form.
Alexis Acker’s criminal defense attorney, Cindy Hyatt, expressed her skepticism.
“There’s no way she kicked him that hard in the balls. He wouldn’t be standing. He’d be hunched over. This is a very violent attack on someone who is in handcuffs, who is partially restrained and tiny, and there’s just no need for it.”
Hyatt added more on why they accuse Officer Walker of police brutality.
“You can’t have something like this, whether it happens 100 times, 10 times, or one time. It’s unacceptable. It cannot be tolerated. As a patrol officer in particular, that’s part of the job, dealing with that without planting someone’s face in the floor.”
Civil attorney Shimon Kohn now represents Alexis Acker in her upcoming $500,000 lawsuit involving alleged police brutality .
[Featured image via YouTube]