By Joanna Putman
Police1
NEW YORK — An NYPD officer has been suspended after newly released body camera footage showed him kicking a suspect detained for hitting an officer with her car on purpose, the New York Post reported.
The incident occurred on Jan. 17 when Sahara Dula, 24, was captured on body camera footage accelerating to hit an NYPD officer with her car, according to the report. That officer sustained a broken leg and other non-life-threatening injuries from the incident.
In court, Dula confirmed that she hit the officer on purpose, saying that he was standing in her way in traffic and wouldn’t move.
“F*** these cops, it’s a lesson to him, and hopefully he doesn’t want to be a cop anymore,” she said.
Dula was charged with first-degree attempted assault, attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and operating a vehicle while ability impaired by drugs and reckless driving, according to the report. She posted her $25,000 bail and was released.
On March 5, Dula posted body camera footage from her arrest, which showed a group of officers struggling to take her to the ground as she yelled obscenities at them. Once officers brought her to the ground and were working to place her in handcuffs, another officer approached and kicked her in the head.
The NYPD has since confirmed that the officer who kicked Dula has been suspended without pay pending an investigation, according to the report. Dula is due back in court on April 18.