The family of a woman seen brutally beaten by a California highway patrol officer in a video is suing over the incident.
CNN reported that the footage, which was captured by passing motorist David Diaz along the Santa Monica freeway on Tuesday, shows the officer repeatedly punching the woman on the ground. Now, the family of the victim, Marlene Pinnock, has decided to sue the agency.
CBS News noted that Caree Harper, the lawyer representing the 51-year-old great-grandmother, has called what happened “unacceptable.”
"The focal point of what she did on the freeway is simple. She got beat, savagely beat by someone who seemed to be trying out for mixed martial arts. And it's unacceptable," Harper said.
The video Diaz shot does not show exactly what happened prior to the beating. A police report released on Friday said that Pinnock posed a danger to herself and other drivers because she was "walking within traffic lanes” on the freeway.
It goes on to say that when the CHP officer asked her to stop she became “physically combative."
The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.