Fired Miami police officer charged for putting knee on Black woman's neck

[June 26, 2020]    (Reuters) - A former Miami police officer was charged on Thursday with battery and misconduct after a video surfaced showing him pressing his knee on a Black woman's neck and tasing her stomach, while she kept screaming, U.S. media reports said.

Jordi Martel, 30, was charged with official misconduct for filing two reports with false details about the incident that took place outside a striptease club on Jan. 14, State Attorney Katherine Rundle told a press conference.

Martel and another officer, Jaiver Castano, were fired last week, although Miami Gardens Police Department has not said why they were dismissed, according to the Miami Herald newspaper.

The video of the incident, filmed by a bystander, showed Martel dragging Safiya Satchell, 33, out of her car and subsequently forcing her down on a grass verge by the roadside.

The video clip showed Martel stunned her twice with a Taser, a weapon that delivers an electric shock. Another officer held Satchell's arm as she struggled to free herself.

The United States is witnessing widespread protests against racism and police brutality since last month's death of a Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody after a police officer knelt on his neck nearly for nine minutes.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.