Shocking footage shows a police officer in Florida dragging a restrained suspect across the ground on her way to be booked in jail.
Tampa Bay police officer Scott Van Treese used a "Total Appendage Restraint Position" to restrict the arms and legs of Sonja Mimmenger, 36, after she allegedly resisted arrest, The Tampa Tribune reports.
The officer arrested Mimmenger in October, 2013, for trespassing and cocaine possession.
Once at the police station, video shows the officer release Mimmenger's leg restraints and, following protocol, handcuffing her arms behind her back. Here is where it becomes controversial, WTSP explains:
The officer is seen lifting Mimmenger up by her arm as the woman remains limp, making an attempt to stand up on her own. Officer Van Treese seems to make little effort to get Mimmenger to properly stand up, and instead the video shows him dragging her away, with her lower body scraping across the ground.
An internal affairs investigation reprimanded Van Treese for the incident, but mandated no further disciplinary action.
Bay News 9 reports that the officer "should have used better judgment in managing the uncooperative defendant by gaining the assistance of booking deputies,” the investigation explained.
In addition, “The department is changing its policy on how to transport a passively resistant defendant such as someone refusing to walk. Officers are now required to use a two person technique,” police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said, according to The Tampa Tribune.
A second individual in the video is identified as a civilian participating in a police ride-along.
Mimmenger's criminal history includes 41 previous charges and 15 convictions, according to WTSP.
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