The lawyer for the woman who was viciously assaulted by a former California Highway Patrol officer has requested that federal prosecutors come in and take over the case. Caree L. Harper says in a letter to the Department of Justice that former CHP officer Daniel Andrew used her client, Marlene Pinnock, as a “punching bag,” and that “Even an animal would have been corralled and led off the street—not beaten into the cement.”
Harper made the request after the L.A. District Attorney refused to file any criminal charges against Andrew for the July 2014 assault of Pinnock. Pinnock had been walking barefoot alongside the busy Santa Monica (10) Freeway when Andrew attempted to keep her out of traffic. Video of the altercation has Andrew coming from behind Pinnock and then shows him crouching on top of her and repeatedly punching her in the head as she tries to shield herself from his blows. Once the CHP completed their internal investigation of the matter they turned the results over to the district attorney’s office. Andrew resigned from the CHP and the agency reached a settlement with Pinnock for $1.5 million dollars.
In her decision not to file criminal charges against Andrew, District Attorney Jackie Lacey, a Black woman, stated that it was “exceedingly clear” that Andrew’s “use of force was legal and necessary to protect not only his own life but also that of Ms. Pinnock.”
Yes … his beating the brakes off of Ms. Pinnock was for her own safety and protection. And it was good for him too. You can find Lacey’s statement, as well as the factors that went into the decision not to charge Andrew, here. You can view a portion of the video of Andrew’s assault of Ms. Pinnock here.