Florida officer fired for beating handcuffed woman

A police officer from the US state of Florida has been fired and arrested after he was caught on video beating a woman in handcuffs.

Probationary officer Akinyemi Borisade was captured on the footage repeatedly punching 31-year-old Mayra Martinez on Wednesday at the Duval County jail in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced that it had dismissed and arrested Borisade, 26, who had been with the police department for little more than a year.

“We are accountable to the community for how these officers act. They are accountable for their actions,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told reporters.

Soundless footage of the incident, captured by prison authorities, shows Martinez with her hands cuffed behind her back slowly walking toward a group of officers. One of them steps forward and forcefully grabs her by the shoulders and slams her to a wall. Martinez kicks the officer, prompting him to charge at her.

Several other officers watch as Borisade takes at least three swings at the woman’s torso. As the uniformed men walk away, she leans back against the wall and then slides down to the ground. After a few seconds, Borisade, in apparent pain, drops her head, slowly lowering it until her forehead rests on the ground.

Corrections officers notified supervisors about the incident. An internal investigation was launched.

Police brutality has become a major concern across the US in recent years. The US Justice Department is under pressure to review the use of force by law enforcement officers.

Many US streets have been the scene of large-scale demonstrations over the past two years, protesting a series of high-profile incidents of police brutality especially against African Americans.

In the latest development, police chief in the US city of San Francisco is facing growing calls to step down amid a racist texting scandal that has rocked the department already dogged by fatal shootings of unarmed black men.

Chief Greg Suhr said Saturday that he has ordered all officers to finish an anti-harassment class within the next month. He has also released more transcripts of racist and homophobic text messages and inappropriate images found on former officers' cellphones during criminal probes of a former officer.

Several hunger strikers and protesters have been camping outside the city’s main police station, demanding justice for victims of police brutality.

The protesters are especially furious over the fatal shooting of an African American man last year. Mario Woods, 26, was shot at least 15 times by a group of police officers on December 2, after ignoring their commands to drop his knife.

The demonstrators blame Suhr and Mayor Ed Lee for rampant cases of police brutality and bias in the city.

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