SEATTLE (AP) _ Surveillance video released in an assault case against a King County sheriff's deputy shows a deputy kicking a young girl, slamming her to the floor of a jail cell, striking her repeatedly and pulling her hair.
The video was published by the Associated Press on YouTube, which can be viewed at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipb_PeXOdT4. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the release of the video was opposed by the deputy's attorneys, noting that it could "inflame public opinion."
The attack begins after the girl entered the cell and kicked off one of her shoes toward the deputy. The deputy then kicks and punches the girl, throws her head into the far wall, then tosses her to the ground, where he punches her several more times while her arms are subdued and her stomach to the ground.
The video released is part of an assault case in which Deputy Paul Schene is accused of using excessive force on the 15-year-old girl, who was being held in a cell at the suburban SeaTac City Hall. Schene was charged with fourth-degree assault earlier this month. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty in Superior Court.
Court papers indicate the November incident started after the girl was brought in for an auto theft investigation.
Schene was involved in two other investigations in 2002 and 2006, one in which the AP reported that he killed a mentally ill man. In both investigations, Schene was found to have been justified in his actions.
