Teh One Who Knocks
07-18-2014, 11:50 AM
By Bob Hazen - WTAE-TV Channel 4
http://i.imgur.com/OvQXaHZ.jpg
Newly obtained surveillance video shows the violent encounter between a 17-year-old girl and Clairton police officers that left the teenager in the hospital.
A 17-year-old girl claims she was beaten by police in Clairton after she and her friends were stopped for a curfew violation Tuesday night.
Merceedez Wright admits she and her friends were out a few minutes after the city's 10 p.m. curfew, and that she both ran from officers and resisted them after being tackled, but she doesn't believe she deserves the injuries she suffered.
"I didn't think cops would do that to me because I'm a girl. And I didn't have anything on me. I was just trying to walk away from the situation," Wright said from her room at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. "I was terrified. I thought I was going to be getting beaten up for hours."
Wright said she and her friends were walking home from the Soft Serve and Dee-Lites ice cream shop on Miller Avenue when they were stopped by officers for being out after curfew. When they tried to go back to pick up a bag and a phone they left behind, they claim the officers tried to detain them.
Wright said she continued walking away from the officers, who then allegedly used force to stop her.
"They both just tackled me to the ground and smashed my face into the ground with their feet and their legs. Then they started pulling my hair and pushing me and stuff, and I was screaming real loud," Wright said.
VIDEO: Watch her interview with Bob Hazen
Wright's friends said they watched as officers used force to subdue her.
"(The officer) ran full force at her and she ran from him," said Destiny Hester. "They pounced on her, then started kicking her and pulling her hair."
"I hear her screaming, I run over there and she's on the ground. They're over there beating her up, kicking her, pulling her hair," said witness Bryon Clifford.
Surveillance cameras across the street from the scuffle show Wright and an officer run into view, before the officer grabs her, spins her around, and throws her to the ground.
What happened next is not clear because the officers and Wright are behind a car, but two minutes later police appear to stand the teenager up before a new struggle begins.
The video shows one of her arms had come free, not in handcuffs, and she seems to pull away from the officers before they take her to the ground again.
One minute later, they again try to walk her to their car, but she appears to resist and pull in the opposite direction. One officer then uses a forceful move to push her down. She then is moved out of the view of the surveillance camera.
Wright is now recovering in the hospital with injuries to her trachea, esophagus and neck, plus several cuts and bruises.
"She's a cheerleader, she's a lifeguard at the Clairton pool, she was just on prom court," said Wright's mother, Audelia Amoah. "She's a good kid."
Even so, Wright admits she ran from officers.
"I was scared because of how he got out of the car. He didn't just walk out, he jumped out of the car and started chasing me, so my first instinct was to run," she said.
Wright also said she did resist officers once she was knocked to the ground. She said she was trying to get her arms free to protect herself.
Clairton police did not respond to requests for comment.
http://i.imgur.com/OvQXaHZ.jpg
Newly obtained surveillance video shows the violent encounter between a 17-year-old girl and Clairton police officers that left the teenager in the hospital.
A 17-year-old girl claims she was beaten by police in Clairton after she and her friends were stopped for a curfew violation Tuesday night.
Merceedez Wright admits she and her friends were out a few minutes after the city's 10 p.m. curfew, and that she both ran from officers and resisted them after being tackled, but she doesn't believe she deserves the injuries she suffered.
"I didn't think cops would do that to me because I'm a girl. And I didn't have anything on me. I was just trying to walk away from the situation," Wright said from her room at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. "I was terrified. I thought I was going to be getting beaten up for hours."
Wright said she and her friends were walking home from the Soft Serve and Dee-Lites ice cream shop on Miller Avenue when they were stopped by officers for being out after curfew. When they tried to go back to pick up a bag and a phone they left behind, they claim the officers tried to detain them.
Wright said she continued walking away from the officers, who then allegedly used force to stop her.
"They both just tackled me to the ground and smashed my face into the ground with their feet and their legs. Then they started pulling my hair and pushing me and stuff, and I was screaming real loud," Wright said.
VIDEO: Watch her interview with Bob Hazen
Wright's friends said they watched as officers used force to subdue her.
"(The officer) ran full force at her and she ran from him," said Destiny Hester. "They pounced on her, then started kicking her and pulling her hair."
"I hear her screaming, I run over there and she's on the ground. They're over there beating her up, kicking her, pulling her hair," said witness Bryon Clifford.
Surveillance cameras across the street from the scuffle show Wright and an officer run into view, before the officer grabs her, spins her around, and throws her to the ground.
What happened next is not clear because the officers and Wright are behind a car, but two minutes later police appear to stand the teenager up before a new struggle begins.
The video shows one of her arms had come free, not in handcuffs, and she seems to pull away from the officers before they take her to the ground again.
One minute later, they again try to walk her to their car, but she appears to resist and pull in the opposite direction. One officer then uses a forceful move to push her down. She then is moved out of the view of the surveillance camera.
Wright is now recovering in the hospital with injuries to her trachea, esophagus and neck, plus several cuts and bruises.
"She's a cheerleader, she's a lifeguard at the Clairton pool, she was just on prom court," said Wright's mother, Audelia Amoah. "She's a good kid."
Even so, Wright admits she ran from officers.
"I was scared because of how he got out of the car. He didn't just walk out, he jumped out of the car and started chasing me, so my first instinct was to run," she said.
Wright also said she did resist officers once she was knocked to the ground. She said she was trying to get her arms free to protect herself.
Clairton police did not respond to requests for comment.