Despite the recent news events of police misconduct and outright police brutality, some cops just don’t seem to get the picture. Once again, video has surfaced of a uniformed police officer blatantly abusing a suspect for a minor crime. We return to the state of Florida where police abuses seem to be outrageous and ever-present, this time it is the Tampa Police Department.
In the video you will see below, Tampa officer Scott Van Treese drags suspect, Sonya Mimminger, 36 and homeless, from his squad car. In the video, Mimminger is seen with her hands and feet bound together and tied behind her back. She is then dragged by Van Treese across the parking lot. Mimminger was arrested for a drug charge and resisting arrest without violence.
The Tampa Police Department initiated an internal affairs investigation and Van Treese was given a written reprimand. In addition, the department has changed its policy so that if a person is passively resisting arrest, two officers must be present to conduct the transport of the prisoner. Mimminger was ultimately convicted of the drug charges and sentenced to 90 days in jail. She is quoted as saying about the experience, “It made me feel like I didn’t have much to live for. If I can’t get respect from law enforcement officers, who else can I get respect from? It was serious to me. It was another heartache.”
[jwplatform B791Zgju]
