Police Video Of Bloody Woman Investigated

(CBS/AP)  The Caddo Parish district attorney and the U.S. Justice Department will investigate the case of a woman who is seen in a police department video lying in a pool of blood in an interrogation room, police chief Henry Whitehorn said Wednesday.

Angela Garbarino of Mooringsport has said she was beaten after her Nov. 17 arrest on a drunk driving charge. The attorney for Wiley Willis, the police officer who was fired Feb. 5 in connection with the case, has said through his attorney that Garbarino fell.

Willis has had two lawsuits filed against him in 2006, one by a mother who says the officer put a gun to her son's head, another by a woman who says she was arrested because she filed a complaint against Willis, reports CBS News' Early Show correspondent Jeff Glor.

Excerpts from a police videotape show Garbarino struggling with an officer in the interrogation room. But the camera was turned off for a time. When it was turned back on, Garbarino is seen on the floor in a pool of blood.

"I had an opportunity to view the tape. I was outraged at what I observed," Whitehorn said at a news conference at police headquarters. "I immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation. That investigation determined that numerous policy violations had occurred."

Garbarino, 42, said Willis, 30, tried to force her to take a breath test against her will and that he beat her after turning off the camera.

Willis' lawyer, Eron Brainard, was not immediately available for comment when called Wednesday by The Associated Press. He told The (Shreveport) Times that Willis did not beat Garbarino.

"After her refusal to take the breath test, officer Willis turned off and saved the videotape in accordance with normal practice," Brainard said in a story published Wednesday. "The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of (Willis) stopping her, she fell and injured herself."

Paramedics took her to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where she was treated for a broken nose, a fractured cheek bone and bruises on various parts of her body. Two of her teeth were knocked out.

Lisa Bloom, legal analyst for The Early Show calls the situation "preposterous."

"If somebody slips and falls, they may bruise their wrist. They don't have two black and blue eyes, missing teeth and found lying down in a pool of their own blood," says Bloom.

Shreveport's police chief says he is outraged by what he saw on the tape, which is why he fired Willis, reports Glor.

But Willis has not been charged with any crime.

The police union has also come to Willis's defense, saying that the chief didn't follow protocol and the police officer's rights were violated, reports Glor.

Garbarino had been taken into custody for DWI testing after someone saw her crash her vehicle into other cars in a casino parking garage and a light pole on a city street, according to police.

Whitehorn said it is police policy for an officer to turn off the videotape of a sobriety test when testing is over and the officer is preparing to book the offender.

Policy will now be changed to where two police officers are in the room at all times, authorities said.

Whitehorn would not say whether he felt Garbarino fell or was thrown down. He also would not say whether he felt the officer should have left the tape on.

"When the incident started to escalate, he should have called in another police officer. He could have cuffed her to the chair. He could have used less restrictive means to control the woman if, indeed, she was getting physically abusive," Bloom told The Early Show.

[bb19631]

I say the cop was definitely wrong. If she wasn''t drunk, she would have never been in that situation, in the first place. I don''t feel sorry for the cop or the victim. People need to stop being stupid.

[slim1h2o]

Posted by Klingon69 at 01:21 PM : Feb 22, 2008

And a bunch of time waisted,,not to mention your money!
What were they trying to prove?

[klingon69]

Don''''t fight go along peacefully and state your case and be done with it.
Posted by pet713 at 06:19 PM : Feb 21, 2008
Oh yes, go along with it...don''t fight or argue...sheeeeeeet
I was pulled over for DWI for being the designated driver. Was taken down town, and the cop couldn''t figure out how to hook up the video equipment, so (remember I am supposed to be drunk)I hooked it up. When I blew, it was a 0.00. I hadn''t been drinking.
I even offerred and took another test, 0.00. The cop said he smelt alcohol on me. I told him I was at a club, but was only drinking Coke. He asked about the smell. I explaigned that another patron brought his drink on the dancefloor, and sloshed it all over everybody(he was thrown out and barred). In the end, they were going to let me go, but decided to hold me until Monday(this was Saturday night), so I could prove to a judge that I made my living by buying and reselling. They booked me on possession of illegal weapons for a case(sealed) of bootknives I had bought that night at an auction, to sell in my flea market booth. When it came to trial a month later, the charges were all dropped.

[dopelgangera]

If our government is increasingly imposing zero-tolerance policies on the members of the general public, for matters large and small, then shouldn''t there be zero-tolerance imposed against clear & flagrant abuses by police officers?

[klingon69]

I saw the video. Prior to him turning off the camera, the young woman''s mouth was bleeding. How did that happen?
As for a fall causing that much damage, I can believe it. My 88 yr old mother fell last year. She didn''t break her nose, but did have the 2 black eyes, swelling...etc. Was alot of blood. However, I understood, that the video had to left on anytime there was a subject in the room for dwi testing.
As for the abusive cop, many are. Many more are good, honest people just trying to do a job. Trouble is, you rarely hear much about them.
One of our local high school cops was let go by the city police for abusive behavior (he also got beat-up a couple of times). Now he is able to use his power and authority to terrorize the kids.

[zootallures2]

You are fine with innocent people being killed for resources and world domination, so what is the big deal about some drunk who could have crashed and killed innocent peop.... Oh, I see, one of you own...LOL!

[carolcape]

So glad to hear so many different comments. I just hope this PO was fired and will not receive only the pay that was coming to him. This lady looks like she was hit by an 18 wheeler. If she was in a car accident she should''ve been taken to hospital. She could have been suffering shock as well as being int. Such stupidity from people who are dealing with this every day of the week is unreal. If any one of us doing our job in any siutation acted in this manner we would be let go in a heartbeat. There are good policemen, I know, but they sure should screen people a little more before hiring them.

[jegibbons]

This old cop violated so many rules of the established protcol and his answers were so lame it''s IMPOSSIBLE for me to believe that this was a case of anything but old fashion Police Brutality.

[slim1h2o]

Good day weirdo.

Posted by DSR57 at 09:36 AM : Feb 22, 2008

Rule #3,,,If your going to insult people,,be more creative!

Good day to you,,too.

And use that cranium, thats between the blades,, for something other than,, a hat rack.

[slim1h2o]

Posted by DSR57 at 09:34 AM : Feb 22, 2008
Boot Licker(ing)= A$$ kisser,,,,Goose stepping== you tow the party line,,or whatever krap that the "Man" tells you,, you will believe. Repug== Republican And Bushite,,or Bushitt,,,which ever fits = Bush,,as in the president..