CNN
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Two Ohio police officers are under investigation after a video surfaced on social media punching an officer Their police chief said that a black woman was confronted several times outside McDonald’s.
Chief John Porter said during a news conference Wednesday that officers were dispatched to the fast-food restaurant in Butler Township on Monday “to a report of a disorderly subject who was disturbing food orders.”
The video shows Sgt. Todd Stanley and Officer Tim Zellers detain Latina Hancock in a McDonald’s parking lot and Stanley strikes Hancock in the face and head.
His lawyer said on Wednesday that Hancock had spent the night in hospital suffering from a cleft lip, loose teeth and a back injury.
case comes as police use of forceparticularly against people of colorThe country is under scrutiny.
Porter said that Hancock was cooperative when police arrived, then later became extremely agitated and refused to identify himself when police asked for his information so they could issue him a trespassing notice.
Police body camera footage of the incident was released during Wednesday’s news conference.
At first, Hancock can be seen calmly explaining to officers what happened to his order and to the McDonald’s employees. Things take a turn for the worse when Stanley asks for her name and she refuses.
One of the officers is heard telling Hancock to “calm down” and warns her that she will go to jail if she refuses to cooperate.
When he refuses to identify himself, officers begin arresting Hancock, and a struggle ensues between the three.
Stanley then punches Hancock in the face and head, police bodycam video shows.
Stanley punched Hancock while Zellers pointed a stun gun at him, according to another video that captured part of the struggle. It was filmed by Mario Robinson, who was at a McDonald’s with his family on Monday to celebrate his daughter’s fourth birthday.
Robinson then exits McDonald’s, approaches the officers and asks, “Why did you punch him?” The police do not answer him.
An officer is later heard saying to Hancock, “You prompted us to use force against you” while Hancock cries, police bodycam video shows. Hancock had earlier shouted, “Why did you punch me?” and “I didn’t even kill you!” On the officers, the bodycam footage is shown.
According to police, Hancock was charged with resisting arrest and failing to identify. He also received citations for driving under suspension and having an open container of liquor in a motor vehicle.
Both officers tried to defuse the situation with Hancock, the chief said, adding that Butler Township officers are trained in de-escalation.
Porter said, “We don’t specifically train for punches in the face, unless it’s a defensive tactic so that the officer has some sort of defense.”
Stanley has been placed on paid administrative leave while the department conducts its investigation. Porter said that if the investigation concludes there was improper conduct, disciplinary action will be recommended.
CNN has reached out to the Butler Township Police Department for further comment. The township is north of Dayton.
The situation began when Hancock realized she had received the wrong McDonald’s Big Mac order, she said Wednesday during a separate news conference conducted by her attorney, Michael Wright.
Wright said that when she returned to the store with the order and her receipt, the manager instructed an employee to make the Big Mac correctly and add an extra slice of cheese, which Hancock had paid for.
The situation escalated from there, as the employee refused to make the sandwich until Hancock paid for the extra cheese, he said. The store returned the order to Hancock, and the police were called in to remove Hancock from the establishment.
“McDonald’s should be ashamed for calling the police on a disobedience to an order,” Wright said.
McDonald’s stores declined to comment to CNN.