The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police blasted District Attorney Seth Williams for not charging a teenage girl who was involved in a caught on cam fight with a police officer in Southwest Philadelphia Monday.
Videos were shared on social media showing the unidentified officer repeatedly punching the 16-year-old girl near 54th Street and Springfield Avenue.
The female officer, who was placed on administrative duty, admitted to punching the girl after the teenager allegedly slapped the officer in the face, police said Tuesday.
The teenager allegedly admitted to slapping the officer during interviews with detectives after the fight. She was released in the hours after the fight and police recommended to the District Attorney that the girl be charged with assault of an officer and disorderly conduct, a police spokesman said. A spokesman for the District Attorney's office told NBC10 Wednesday however that they would not file charges against the girl.
"After reviewing the evidence, we have declined charges against the juvenile," the spokesman said.
The decision was criticized by Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby who released a statement that was later posted on Twitter.
As many as 30 people were involved in the street fight around 3:30 p.m. Monday, police said. Family members of some of the brawlers called police from a nearby house, according to one witness, Takeema Bundy. Two videos posted to social media showed the fighting.
A video posted on Instagram first pans across the street, capturing the scope of a mass melee. Within a few moments, the video focuses in on a female police officer who is pushing a teen girl away from the center of the fracas.
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The teenager yells at the officer and the two begin to push each other. For about a second, the video moves away, but when it returns to the officer and teenager, the officer is seen throwing the teen girl to the ground. The officer then straddles the teen and repeatedly punches the teen as the teen swings back. The officer then pulls the teen girl up by her hair as other brawlers swarm around the two and another officer comes into the frame. The video then ends.
“They threw me against the car and they slammed her on the ground,” the teen’s legal guardian, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10.
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Another video posted on Facebook also shows the incident between the officer and the teen, though it does not show the large brawl that occurred right before. Toward the end of the Facebook video, a second assisting officer can be seen separating some of the brawlers from surrounding the initial female officer and teenager.
Bundy, who is also a friend of the teen, claimed the girl was actually trying to break up the brawl but threw a punch at someone before she was confronted by the police officer. She also told NBC10 the teen's mother died two weeks ago.
“I just feel like she didn’t deserve it,” Bundy said while in tears. “She lost her mom. She don’t got nobody and I feel she was there for me and look where she’s at.”
The Internal Affairs Bureau continues to investigate the incident.
Warning: This video contains violence and strong language
