National News
Justice Sought for Black Woman Beaten by CHP
By Kenneth D. Miller
Special to the NNPA
from the Los Angeles Sentinel
M
ore than 23-years after the video-
tape release of White uniformed
LAPD officers beating unarmed
Black motorist Rodney King in 1991
(which sparked the civil unrest in Los Ange-
les and throughout the country in 1992), the
savage beating of 51-year old African
American woman Marlene Pinnock by a yet
to be named White California Highway
Patrol officer on the Santa Monica Freeway
on July 1 was captured by cell phone video.
A community is outraged, civil rights and
community leaders are planning a protest
and the victim’s attorney is demanding jus-
tice. Pinnock has since been hospitalized
and the CHP officer has been placed on paid
administrative leave as the organization
the shoulder of the freeway.
Two days following the attack, the CHP
issued the following statement: “The Cali-
fornia Highway Patrol (CHP) is aware of
the video and we are looking into the inci-
dent. As a matter of policy, every time there
is a use of force by our officers, there is a
review conducted to determine whether the
use of force was appropriate. That will be
done in this case, however, since there is an
ongoing investigation, it would be prema-
ture to comment on this specific video
segment without reviewing the entire inci-
dent.”
The video starts with the officer attempt-
ing to detain Pinnock. She manages to get a
few steps away from him before he forces
her to the ground. The officer then briefly
struggles with her before repeatedly punch-
ing her in the face.
“After the officer spotted the barefoot
woman walking along the
shoulder and stepping into
lanes of the 10 Freeway near
the La Brea Avenue exit, he
approached the woman, who
became ‘physically combat-
ive’,” the CHP said in a
statement. The video then
shows the officer pull her to
the side of the highway as he
begins to brutally beat her.
After a few moments, a plainclothes offi-
cer arrives at the scene and assists the CHP
officer in restraining Pinnock in handcuffs.
On July 4, Chris O’Quinn, Assistant Chief
of the CHP Southern Division, assured
news outlets the incident would be thor-
oughly reviewed.
The video then shows the
officer pull her to the side of
the highway as he begins to
brutally beat her
investigates possible excessive use of force.
The video of the beating has since gone
viral on YouTube and viewed by nearly a
quarter of a million people just as of Mon-
day July 7. The video, captured by a driver
passing by, shows an officer punching Pin-
nock while on the ground more than eleven
times in the face while she lies helpless on
The savage beating of 51-year old African American woman Marlene Pinnock
by a-yet-to-be-named White California Highway Patrol officer on the Santa
Monica Freeway July 1 was captured by cell phone video.
“We’re looking at every possibility, every
fact, every circumstance that have con-
tributed to this situation, and we’re going to
try to come to a just conclusion,” said Assis-
tant Chief O’Quinn at a news conference on
Friday.
Pinnock’s family has retained African
American attorney Caree Harper, a former
police officer dedicated to pursuing justice,
according to her website. Her site lauds her
federal and state jury trial experience, and
states she has helped many victims of civil
rights violations.
Harper is asking that the two officers
involved in the incident be punished. “She’s
not just some animal,” attorney Harper said,
“She has an aunt, a sister, a brother, a father
and a great-grandchild.”
Prominent Northern California based civil
rights attorney John Burris has also joined
the legal team representing Pinnock.
California Attorney General Kamala Har-
ris declined to comment on the matter as of
press time.
The Sentinel reached out to a number of
additional elected officials who were not
available for comment.
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
labor union to better the
lives of all people working
in the building trades
through advocacy, civil
demonstration, and the
long-held belief that work-
ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
ens families, but also allows our communities to become
stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens'
needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people
working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard-
less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious
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