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HYATTSVILLE, Md. - A 16-year-old girl says a police officer threw her to the ground and slammed her face into a police cruiser. We have exclusive video of the incident.
On the video you can see then-16-year-old Shawnikka Jackson in handcuffs being escorted to the side of a police car. The officer, identified in a complaint as Corporal Stephen Bachert, kicks her legs apart and then, without any sign of a struggle from Jackson, slams the girls head into the rear window of the cruiser.
"Her tooth went through her skin and cut...the outside of her skin. She had to be stitched up," says attorney Terrell Roberts.
Attorney Terrell Roberts represents Jackson and says the video makes a strong case.
"It's a clear violation of this young lady's rights," said Roberts.
It all began October 9 at about 10 a.m. when mall security called the Hyattsville city police to ask Jackson to leave. The mall at Prince George's County doesn't allow students her age in the building during school hours.
On the video, you can see Bachert arrive and spend about a minute talking to Jackson, who is hidden by a column.
In her written account, Jackson says she agrees to leave, but as she heads for the door the officer grabs her from behind and throws her to the floor. With a knee in her back, she is slapped in handcuffs and then taken outside where she claims she was injured.
A photo shows the facial scar from her stitches.
Her lawyer says she had committed no crime.
"If she's been asked to leave and she's leaving, she's not guilty of trespass, said Roberts.
We've been unable to reach Cpl. Bachert. A spokesperson for the Hyattsville city police would say only an investigation has been open and assigned for several days now. The officer remains on full duty status.
Roberts is exploring a civil lawsuit.
Roberts said, "It's just a gratuitous, appears to be, malicious act to cause her harm."
As for why Jackson was in the mall in not in school, she says she was running late and was waiting to meet a friend because she didn't want to walk alone. Jackson says she was not looking for any trouble.
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