Indictment Dismissed After Bodycam Footage Reveals Police Brutality
An indictment against a 30-year-old woman with PTSD was dismissed after body-camera footage revealed a police officer admitting to using excessive force.
A 30-year-old woman suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder had her criminal indictment completely dismissed after her defense attorney uncovered body-camera footage capturing a police officer admitting to using excessive force during her 2023 arrest in Ramat Gan.
The incident began around 3:00 AM when the woman, identified as A., received a text message from her partner of a month and a half ending their relationship and asking her not to come to his home. According to the indictment, she arrived at his Ramat Gan residence about half an hour later, let the air out of two of his car tires, and spray-painted his vehicle after he refused to open the gate. The charges also claimed she had thrown hot coffee at him the previous day. A responding police officer spotted her spray-painting the vehicle and arrested her.
The Arrest and Escalation
According to her attorney, Ader Attias from the Public Defender's Office, the initial officer recognized that A. was dealing with PTSD and called for a female officer to assist. However, the defense argued that the arrival of the second officer led to a severe escalation. Recalling the arrest in an interview, A. stated that she immediately approached the first officer, dropped her belongings, and pleaded with him not to resort to violence while explaining her condition.
"I remember saying over and over 'please don't beat me.' I was having a panic attack. I told them I wasn't feeling well and needed Magen David Adom, but the female officer told me I didn't need any medical help," she recounted. A. suffers from severe trauma stemming from a difficult life history, including the loss of a child, abandonment, physical abuse, and sexual assault. She described how her mental health struggles deeply affected her ability to function over the years, noting that the encounter with police triggered a profound dissociative state.
The Critical Body-Camera Footage
While the original indictment accused A. of assaulting officers, damaging police property, and causing a disturbance at the station, the case unraveled when Attorney Attias reviewed the physical evidence. Among the files was a seven-minute body-camera video showing the officers transferring A. between police vehicles while she gasped for air and begged them not to use force.
Towards the end of the recording, the female officer is heard telling a colleague: "She's a complete lunatic, and if you don't want to, I'll use force because I'm breaking her life and you know it, you know how I broke her head." The officer then realizes her body camera is recording, asks why it is active, and turns it off. Attias emphasized that this objective evidence completely dismantled the prosecution's narrative, leading to a court-mandated dismissal of all charges after mediation.
Following the dismissal, A. expressed hope that her ordeal would raise awareness regarding how law enforcement treats individuals suffering from PTSD. Meanwhile, both the Police Internal Investigations Department and the Israel Police stated that complaints regarding police violence were thoroughly examined and closed, though the Israel Police maintained that the indictment was withdrawn strictly in light of overall circumstances rather than systemic misconduct.
