US Police Use Extreme Force during Violent Arrest of Female Flower Vendor
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The extreme force used by a US police officer during the arrest of a flower vendor outside a high school in California has led to outrage on social media.
Juanita Mendez-Medrano, 52, was selling flowers at a graduation ceremony at Perris High School on June 7, when she was approached by police officers questioning her for selling without a permit, reports Washington Post.
Video posted to Twitter of the arrest on July 18 shows Ms. Mendez-Medrano struggling with an officer before being grabbed by the hair and forced to the ground.
A second officer then appears to help with the arrest as the Ms. Mendez-Medrano flails and screams in distress.
A statement by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department says when officers tried to address the woman over her illegal activities she resisted and was then arrested.
Comments on the video posted to twitter were mostly negative against the actions of police.
"I'm absolutely disgusted to see a Perris police officer treat a woman who is just trying to make a living like that," one Twitter user wrote.
However, not everyone agreed, with another user posting: "You follow directions and this will not happen."
The Riverside Sheriff's Office released an official statement after the video was released saying, "The video did not capture the other vendors cooperating with the citation process, nor did it capture our officer's repeated efforts to convince Ms. Mendez-Medrano to do the same."
