New video shows woman received no help for 15 minutes after cop beat her unconscious outside jail

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New video shows woman received no help for 15 minutes after cop beat her unconscious outside jail
Brad Reed

17 May 2016 at 08:44 ET

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/new-video-shows-woman-received-no-help-for-15-minutes-after-cop-beat-her-unconscious-outside-jail/

Last month, we saw a shocking video of a rookie police officer brutally beating a handcuffed woman unconscious as three of his fellow officers stood by. Now local news station FirstCoastNews.com has obtained a fuller version of the video that shows the police left 31-year-old Mayra Martinez lying unconscious on the ground for 15 minutes before giving her medical attention. The previously released version of the video cut off shortly after Martinez had slumped over onto the ground.

Although Jacksonville police officer Akinyemi Borisade was fired for beating Martinez while she was being processed at the jail, this new video raises disturbing questions about the behavior of other officers on the scene. Not only did they seem reluctant to intervene while Borisade was punching Martinez, but they also didn’t seem at all concerned about getting her help once she was on the ground.

“The beating takes less than a minute, but Martinez is left on the ground as officers and jail staff stand around her for a full fifteen minutes,” FirstCoastNews.com writes. “That’s until EMTs arrive and spend the next few minutes reviving her. She remains on the ground, however, for another 20 minutes – the first responders leave after a little over ten minutes. The video ends without showing her entering the jail.”

According to police, Martinez was arrested this past April after she became drunk and belligerent after she quit her job at a local bar. In surveillance video taken at the jail, Borisade can be seen placing a handcuffed Martinez against a wall, after which she twice tried to kick the officer with her foot. It was at this point that Borisade repeatedly punched the woman until she fell to the ground.

Check out the news report on the new video footage below.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 4 • Views: 861 • Replies: 9

I'm not condoning the officer's EXCESSIVE actions, but this woman was

drunk and belligerent

she twice tried to kick the officer with her foot.

I just wonder what the EMS findings were. Was she passed out drunk or beaten "until she fell to the ground" as the article states.

I'm just wondering why - in these times - officers think they can handle people like this. Lack of training? Animals, themselves? WTF?

2 Replies

@PUNKEY,

Most victims of police brutality are no angels though, but that we have little control over and as such shouldn't be much of a focus in a discussion unless their behavior absolves the police reaction. We can and should focus on the police and them maintaining better standards. We deserve better overlords.

0 Replies

@PUNKEY,

I do think that there may be some explanation for police brutality to be found in the personality types frequently drawn to police work...but, having observed police close up for a lot of my professional life, I tend to think a lot of their behaviour may be attributed to unresolved extreme trauma.

They are recruited almost as children and are rapidly exposed to horrific accidents, appalling domestic situations (eg they are the people who turn up at the frontline of horrible child abuse cases, DV,), awful crime scenes etc.

They see the worst of humanity before their brains are fully formed, often in situations where they fear for their lives.

Perfect recipe for ptsd

To add to this, in general they work in non trauma informed organisations which prize apparent imperviousness to the horrors they experience and punish normal human responses and sensitivity.

They also tend to become isolated from normal responses in that their work and experiences mean they tend to cling together socially with a somewhat fortress mentality.

They quickly learn....as all of us in frontline jobs where we deal daily with extremes of human experience do...that nobody wants to know about what you do except others doing it. Also, people in these jobs generally don't want to contaminate their family lives with horror.

It's a recipe for appalling behaviour or suicide...which happens a lot with cops.

2 Replies

@dlowan,

That is a very interesting theory. Hadn't thought about the PSTD component to this.

1 Reply

@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

They quickly learn....as all of us in frontline jobs where we deal daily with extremes of human experience do...that nobody wants to know about what you do except others doing it.

Early in the 1970s, my sister asked me if i weren't glad to be out of the army, and then asked me about the stress. I took her at her word, and tried to tell her what it was like to be a medic in a surgical hospital. She freaked out completely, and yelled at me that she didn't want to hear about dead people, and then left the room--in fact, i heard the front door, so she had the house, too. That was my sister, for Dog's sake. As you can imagine, you don't try that kind of thing a second time.

1 Reply

@Robert Gentel,

It's huge. I know this via talking to cops professionally.....one hint of safety and empathy and they can't stop talking. It's so sad because it's so hard for them to access effective treatment because of the macho culture, generally speaking. I have ended up spending hours on the phone to detectives I called for a simple piece of information. Hopefully made it possible for them to follow up the referrals I gave them...but goddess that takes guts!

Also have often ended up debriefing the poor young folk doing frontline patrol work who happened upon a horrific child abuse case. And the poor ambos....as part of information gathering when on duty or in hospital EDs.

Also seen it all play out in a dear friend

I have a colleague working in the area in another state where, with intensive work and manifestly effective therapy, they changed the culture a bit and it became ok for many of the younger cops to access help

Generally it's a stupid and unnecessary ******* tragedy

1 Reply

@Setanta,

Yep. It makes sense though. We exist, in the main, by protecting ourselves from a reality that includes horrifying random suffering.

I know I can deal with the stuff that I am exposed to regularly, however unhealthily, but give me war and famine etc and I'm overwhelmed. Animals? Don't tell me! I'll have nightmares for months.

0 Replies

@dlowan,

It's sad how ill equipped most of us are with dealing with the trauma of others. Our own defense mechanisms prevent us from helping many in need of it.

1 Reply

@Robert Gentel,

The main problem is that officers have an us vs them attitude. Its too easy to ignore a them and forgive an us.

0 Replies

New video shows woman received no help for 15 minutes after cop beat her unconscious outside jail

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