A police officer from Pensacola, Florida, was fired and arrested this week following a violent incident in which he slammed a female driver into her latest generation Chevrolet Camaro.
The video footage from Officer Christopher Geraci’s vehicle shows the 33-year-old cop talking to Abbi Bonds, 29, who he had found on the side of the road talking on her cell phone.
Geraci approached the woman on suspicion of being involved in two hit-and-run incidents that occurred in the early-morning hours of August 2, according to her arrest report.
Bonds’ Camaro had paint on it that matched the two vehicles she allegedly hit, while Geraci’s report noted she had alcohol on her breath and that she claimed her vehicle had been stolen.
Geraci is heard in the video repeatedly asking Bonds to get back into her vehicle, something she ignored.
After several failed attempts to convince her to return inside the car, Geraci approaches Bonds and is then seen grabbing her arm roughly before he swings her with might into the side of the Camaro.
“Dude, I’m not fighting you. Why are you hitting me?” Bonds says in the video. “You don’t have to hit me like that,” she added as the officer walked her towards his car. “And you don’t have to sit there and argue with me and fight with me,” Geraci responds.
ABC News reported that Bonds suffered a swollen knee, a hurt jaw and a possible concussion from being slammed into the vehicle.
“He just totally lost control as a police officer and beat the crap out of me using way beyond excessive force,” she told the news station.
Geraci’s report says that Bonds failed several field-sobriety tests and was charged with DUI and abandoning the scene of an accident without leaving information. The woman was released from jail after posting a $1,500 bond.
Bonds didn’t make an official complaint about the incident with the video being discovered during a routine review of police car footage.
“This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Police Chief Chip Simmons said in a press statement. “When I saw the video, I was shocked and disappointed. This is not how we train. It was unreasonable force, and it was inconsistent with the level of resistance.”
As a result, Geraci, who has been with the police force since 2004, was not only fired last Friday but he was also charged with criminal battery and booked into jail before he was released, according to ABC. If convicted, the former police officer could face up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Story References: NYDaily, PNJ & ABC News
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