Authorities in Georgia say a fellow officer was caught on surveillance camera inside a convenience store as he beat a homeless woman.
According to the Associated Press, Phillip Larscheid, a 29-year-old DeKalb County police officer, was initially investigated and cleared of the June 2017 incident, which occurred as he attempted to arrest the victim, Katie McCrary.
A subsequent probe into the matter, however, led to his indictment this week on criminal charges of aggravated assault and violating his oath of office.
Investigators believe McCrary had been loitering at the store, asking customers for handouts. Upon the arrival of police, she allegedly told Larscheid that she was a federal agent, to which he told her she could be arrested for impersonating an officer.
The encounter reportedly became physical when McCrary grabbed the officer’s badge, prompting an escalation of force. The surveillance footage reportedly reveals the officer repeatedly hit the woman with his baton and kick her — even after she had fallen to the ground.
Larscheid allegedly continued to press his knee into her back and can be heard demanding her to stop resisting as she reaches for his baton.
“Let it go or I’m going to shoot you,” he reportedly said.
“What did I do?” she can be heard saying in response.
Defense attorney Lance LoRusso said Larscheid’s legal team would be taking “appropriate action in the next days and weeks.”
McCrary was reportedly treated by medical staff at an area hospital and released. She was later charged with obstructing an officer and received a warning for criminal trespass.
As of the latest reports available, Larscheid remained on clerical duty at the agency as he had been since July 2017. An attorney had reportedly promised the suspect would turn himself in by Saturday afternoon.
[Featured image: Pixabay]
