Video Shows Cop Slamming Woman to Ground After She Was Allegedly Attacked by Kids

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation after a social media video shows one of its sheriff’s deputies grabbing a woman by her hair and slamming her to the ground after she had allegedly been attacked by multiple boys.

In an interview with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network — in partnership with WRKF, WWNO, and The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate — published this week, 34-year-old Shantel Arnold says the incident occurred on September 20 around 2 p.m.

Per her account and a reported cellphone video circulating on social media, Arnold was attacked by more than one boy as she was walking down the street near her family’s trailer home.

While the boys allegedly slammed Arnold to the ground and beat her while a crowd watched and laughed, she tried to defend herself with a stick. The alleged assault ended after 71-year-old Lionel Gray, whom Arnold calls her stepfather, chased the boys away.

When Arnold walked toward her home, an unidentified JPSO deputy rolled up beside her in his patrol car. The New York Times notes that the cop’s intent is unclear.

Per a transcript of her interview with an internal affairs investigator, Arnold says, “I’m on my way home. I ain’t make it all the way to the block, the police come out of nowhere, swarming, getting me like, ‘Come here.’ I’m like, ‘What’s going on? I just got beat up by two children, what ya’ll doing?’”

Arnold said the deputy demanded that she stop and talk to him. However, she told him she had just been assaulted, wanted to go home, and continued walking.

Per Gray and Arnold’s uncle Tony Givens, the officer allegedly jumped out of his vehicle, grabbed Arnold, and threw her to the ground.

In a video that shows part of the altercation, the deputy wrestles with Arnold’s arm. Then, he grabs her by the hair and throws her head down to the pavement multiple times.

Per ProPublica, witnesses say the attack ripped several of Arnold’s braids from her scalp.

The outlet adds that Arnold told investigators that it was the deputy, not the boys, who caused her injuries, which included bruises and scratches across her body, a busted lip, and recurring headaches.

At the scene, deputies called Arnold an ambulance and she was taken a local hospital. ProPublica says she was not charged with any crimes.

As a result of the incident, ProPublica reports that JPSO is investigating the deputy seen in the video.