Moment California cop beats down on woman after she bites into his shoulder — as he gets punished

A California cop has been put on leave after punching a homeless woman who bit him in the shoulder, according to newly released video.

The July 1 footage, shortly after a homeless encampment cleanup, shows the Antioch officer along with another struggling to restrain 41-year-old Ja’Marlette Hardy.

At one point in the footage, Hardy leans into the troubled cop’s shoulder and appears to bite him. The officer recoils and decks the woman, throwing her hat behind her.

Witnesses shout about the punch, and the bitten officer yells: “She bit me!”

Hardy told CBS News that she did bite the officer, but only did so because she believed they were using excessive force against her. She also accused the cop of trying to “break” her wrist.

“In the video, you could see him kind of, like, put his weight this way to get that arm behind my back,” Hardy said.

“And as he did that, I felt my shoulder pop. So I bit him. Yes, I did. I’m not going to deny it, but how I feel about it is, self-defense. You’re a big man. I’m a little woman.”

The homeless woman said she was helping another elderly homeless neighbor when the escalation happened.

Police had a different story. Cops said Hardy wouldn’t stay back from cleanup crews, confronted city workers, and interfered with officers performing their duties.

Officers tried to arrest her after she refused repeated orders to comply. 

Antioch Police Chief Joe Vigil said the punching officer has been placed on paid administrative leave, standard practice for the department during an internal independent investigation.

Vigil said that “any use of force by our officers is taken seriously.” Hardy’s allies in the encampment believed the punch wasn’t justified.

“Come help the people. Don’t attack the people,” Marz Shelby said. “Because right now, we’re literally living on the edge of the world. Like … nowhere else to go.”

“A girl bit you barely, barely. You couldn’t take it. So you decided you wanted to sock her like she was a man?” Shalonda Hill, another friend in the encampment, said.

Hardy said she has lingering symptoms from the officer’s punch, including hallucinations.

“I keep having migraines. I cannot sleep at night. I’m tossing and turning,” Hardy said. “I’m having, like, I guess you could say, hallucinating.”

A police use-of-force expert and former officer Don Cameron believes the punch was justified to prevent the woman from biting again.

“She bit him and … what’s saying, you know, now if I don’t stop her from biting that area, that she doesn’t go up and bite my face, or she doesn’t go down and bite my arm?” Cameron said.

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