We are proud to share this timely and highly-informative opinion piece recently published on Newsweek.com written by David Henderson, Of Counsel, Ellwanger Law.
David Henderson
I vividly remember the first time I saw Maya, whose name is changed here to protect her privacy, with her two black eyes at the hands of the San Antonio Police Department. One eye was so beaten, it could no longer open. Responding to a 911 call from a bar that had overserved her, three male police officers alleged Maya had become violent and unruly. During the arrest, they cuffed her hands, shackled her legs and delivered multiple bone-breaking blows to her head while straddling her chest.
The officers claimed the violence was necessary “for everyone’s safety.” In 2007, there were no body cameras to capture the beating. It was her word against theirs. The details are horrifying, and the only reason why we even know them is because Maya is a white woman. Had she been an African American, like me, things likely would have been even worse.
At the time, I was a young prosecutor at the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. Police brutality was a regular occurrence. Years later, sadly, it is no better.