Texas Trooper Assaults Handcuffed Woman

“That was not necessary.”  Those are the words Whitney Cox managed to mumble out after being brutally assaulted by Texas Trooper Arturo Perez. Those words sum up the situation perfectly.

Ms. Cox was being arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. While placing her in handcuffs, Trooper Perez reacts to her cursing at him by telling her that she was “fixing to get hurt”.  As he is walking her to his patrol car he makes good on that threat when she begins to struggle. The resistance she offered was minimal, but Trooper Perez reacted with overwhelming force. He grabbed her shirt and slammed her into the concrete wall. She hit face first causing a bloody gash in her chin.

Every profession has frustrating aspects.  Doctors get puked on, nurses get their asses grabbed by spunky patients, kindergarten teachers have to clean up kids that poop in their pants, waitresses deal with picky customers who never tip, and police officers encounter drunk, frustrating, maybe even infuriating people on a daily basis. Being a professional means you keep your cool when faced with these difficult situations. Trooper Perez simply lost his cool and acted in a way that was “not necessary.”

Prosecutors agree that Trooper Perez actions were excessive and unnecessary and have charged him with misdemeanor assault. It is rare that an officer is ever charged in cases of excessive force and even more rare that they actually serve time. Let’s hope Perez is held accountable to the same extent you or I would be if we lost our cool and caused injury to another person.