A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with assault for allegedly repeatedly kicking a woman in the groin during an arrest in which the woman ultimately died.
Defense attorney Robert Pico says his client, 18-year-veteran Officer Mary OCallaghan, was charged Thursday with one felony count of assault under color of authority. A Police Commission review of the 2012 incident concluded OCallaghan used unreasonable force on 35-year-old Alesia Thomas, who was restrained and in the backseat of a cruiser. OCallaghan was relieved of duty pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing. Police say Thomas was being arrested after abandoning her two children at a police station at 2 a.m. because she was a drug addict and couldnt care for them. Pico says OCallaghan has never had a sustained complaint.