An attorney for a man seen on video being punched by a Los Angeles Police Department officer during an arrest last month said Monday that his client will not face charges.
The announcement was made following the morning arraignment of Alexander Mitchell, 30, who was seen with his hands behind his back when he was punched during the July 28 incident.
Cellphone video of the arrest shows Mitchell yelling, “What did I do?” as he was being detained.
Mitchell was illegally parked and facing the wrong direction near 113th Street and Graham Avenue in Watts when he was approached by the officers.
“My client was double-parked. That’s all he was doing. Waiting for a friend. We see people double-parked all the time at the airport. You never see police officers pulling them out of their cars, handcuffing them and punching them,” Attorney Brad Gage said.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League defended the officer’s actions amid outcries from the public once the video was shared.
The organization said Mitchell was resisting arrest and not cooperating with officers who asked him to put his hands behind his back so they could put a second handcuff on him.
That strike “enabled officers to complete the handcuffing,” police said, and the Protective League added that the use of strikes complies with LAPD protocol when an officer is trying to “overcome active resistance to arrest.”
Gage has filed a complaint against the LAPD in connection with the incident.
The officer who threw the punch was taken off field duty pending an investigation.