The officer has since been fired over the punch.
Every time a football player or an NBA star makes headlines for domestic abuse, the country goes up in arms as news outlets talk about domestic violence in these industries. Because of this phenomenon, 69 percent of Americans think that there is widespread domestic violence in the NFL.
But the reality is that domestic violence among NFL players is well below the national average, coming in at just five percent. On the contrary, however, every time a police officer—someone who has sworn an oath to uphold the constitution and the law—beats their significant other, it barely registers as a blip in the media. This is in spite of some incredibly disturbing numbers when it comes to domestic violence among police.
The average rate of families who experience domestic violence in the country is around 10 percent. When we look at police officers’ families, however, that number quadruples. As the National Center for Women and Policing points out, two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence.
If police are willing to inflict such violence against their loved ones, it should come as no surprise that they have no problem doing it to complete strangers as well.
The veil of “protect and serve” has been lifted once again, with a shocking body cam video exposing the brutal and unnecessary violence perpetuated by a Colorado cop, now dismissed. In a graphic demonstration of police violence against women, Russell Maranto, a former member of the Loveland Police Department, aged 28, was seen delivering a forceful punch to the face of an in-custody woman, Angelia Hall, aged 59. Hall’s transgression? She had dared to spit at him.
Police Chief Tim Doran of Loveland unveiled this brutal event to the public on a Friday video release. The short clip from the body cam uncovers the unsettling minutes leading up to Maranto’s shocking act of violence against Hall, who was then in custody in a hospital ER room, and the aftermath. Amid explicit language and shrill protests aimed at the officers and medical personnel, Hall spits at Maranto, triggering an immediate, brutal response as he smashes his fist into her face.
As the scene plays out, the other officer in the room acts swiftly to separate the now-stunned Hall and the combative Maranto. “In the pursuit of truth and accountability, I am making this video public,” announced Doran. “We must hold both the officers of my department and lawbreaking citizens accountable for their actions.”
Although the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office has initiated an investigation into the incident, the district attorney’s office has yet to file criminal charges against Maranto, per Doran’s disclosure. Fox31 has made attempts to contact the DA’s office for a statement and currently awaits a response.
Following this damning exposé of brute force, Maranto was discharged from duty on May 23, as confirmed by the Loveland Police Department. The details leading to the event are chilling. Officers were dispatched at around 8:30 p.m. on May 20, following a report of a woman, later identified as Hall, meandering in and out of traffic and displaying signs of confusion in the vicinity of North Garfield Avenue and East 29th Street. Upon arrival, officers took Hall into protective custody and transported her to a nearby hospital for assessment.
Doran has urged the public to watch the full body cam video, an unsettling one hour and thirty-two minutes record of the incident. In a turn of events, Hall has been charged with third-degree assault for her actions toward Maranto. It seems the system is, yet again, straining under the weight of its own contradictions. The price of transparency might just be the revealing of a disconcerting truth.
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist
