Outrage after White cop is seen slamming Black woman's head, tearing off her braids
JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUSIANA: In a shocking instance of police brutality, a White deputy from Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office was filmed slamming a partially blind Black woman to the ground with brutal force. The horrifying assault, which took place on September 20, 2021, left 34-year-old Shantel Arnold badly injured, with her braids torn off from the head. The disturbing video footage of the incident shows the unnamed police officer flinging a petite Arnold on the ground while grabbing her by the hair.
Speaking to NOLA.com, Arnold later shared, "I'm on my way home. I ain't make it all the way to the block, the police come out of nowhere, swarming, getting me like, 'Come here.' I'm like, 'What's going on? I just got beat up by two children, what ya'll doing?" The deputy then demanded that Arnold stops and talks to him about the children harassing her. According to eyewitnesses, the cop jumped out of his vehicle all of a sudden and attacked Arnold without any provocation. "She didn’t have a chance to pull away because, you know, this guy was strong. He grabbed her arm, and some kind of move he made, and she went down to the ground," shared Lionel Gray, Shantel Arnold's stepfather and one of the eyewitnesses.
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The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating a deputy for holding 4'8" Shantel Arnold by her hair and repeatedly slamming her head into the pavement. He ripped several braids from her scalp.
— Both Parties Work Against Us! (@Winslow19Don) October 17, 2021
She had already fended off an attack by some local boys. pic.twitter.com/4FKduaMEMG
Shantel Arnold, who is 4'8" tall and has a petite body weighing only 100 pounds, is often picked on by neighborhood brats. She lost one of her eyes in a past car accident, making it easier for young boys to pick on her and harass her often. On September 20, Arnold faced a similar attack by three local boys and used a stick to fend them off. Her stepfather Lionel Gray eventually intervened and shooed them away.
Around this time, the unnamed cop arrived and confronted Arnold. As she tried to walk away from him, he aggressively grabbed her by her braids and slammed her forcefully on the ground. He went on to repeatedly slam her on the ground several times, before several of her braids are torn out by brutal force. Towards the end of the 14-second video, the cop appears to kneel on Arnold's back. She was escorted to the hospital later for treatment as she sustained multiple bruises, scratches, and injuries across the body. She also sported a busted lip and complained of getting recurrent headaches after the assault.
Meanwhile, Shantel Arnold's sister Mercedes was also approached by the same police officer, who then tried to convince her that her sister was not mentally well. He also implored Mercedes to get Shantel committed to a mental health hospital. However, her family refuted the claim calling it the officer's ruse to justify his behavior. "He was just trying to cover up what he did by saying my sister is crazy," Mercedes said.