September 20, 2021 – Jefferson Parish (LA)
34 year-old. Repeatedly smashed to the ground by her braids
- Last update: 18:48 - First published
Shantel was walking home around 2 p.m. when Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy Julio Alvarado, a 16-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, pulled up in his vehicle and demanded she stop and talk to him, according to Shantel and two witnesses related to her, as well as their statements provided to a sheriff’s investigator. She told him that she had just been assaulted by several boys from the neighborhood and wanted to go home, and she continued walking. Arnold is 4-foot-8, about 100 pounds and is missing her left eye from a car accident.
According to the two witnesses, Lionel Gray, 71, whom Arnold considers her stepfather, and Arnold’s 55-year-old uncle, Tony Givens, Alvarado jumped out of his vehicle, grabbed Shantel and threw her to the ground, unprovoked. The 14-second video captures what happened next. It shows Alvarado dragging Arnold along the pavement. They briefly disappear behind a parked white vehicle. When they come back into view, Alvarado is holding Shantel by her braids, slamming her repeatedly onto the pavement. At one point, he whips her down so violently her body spins around and flips over. The footage ends with Alvarado crouching down and placing a knee onto Shantel’s back.
The Sheriff’s Office opened an internal probe into the deputy’s actions shortly after the incident, though Shantel did not file a complaint. That’s an action the Sheriff’s Office often does not take, even in cases where citizens complain about the inappropriate use of force.
The probe remains open. At the same time, the office issued a statement saying the video had been “selectively edited.” The statement asserted that Arnold was intoxicated and that she had been resisting arrest.
ProPublica dug out the troubling violent history of excessive-force allegations against officer Julio Alvarado : he has been named in 9 civil rights lawsuits, more than any deputy currently employed at the JPSO…
Justice and Light for Shantel and her family !
Physical violence
| X | Hustle / Projection |
| Kicks, punches, slaps | |
| X | Feet / knees on the nape of the neck, chest or face |
| Blows to the victim while under control and/or on the ground | |
| Blows to the ears | |
| Strangulation / chokehold | |
| Painful armlock | |
| Fingers forced backwards | |
| Spraying with water | |
| Dog bites | |
| X | Hair pulling |
| Painfully pulling by colson ties or handcuffs | |
| Sexual abuse | |
| Use of gloves | |
| Use of firearm | |
| Use of “Bean bags” (a coton sack containing tiny lead bullets) | |
| Use of FlashBall weapon | |
| Use of sound grenade | |
| Use of dispersal grenade | |
| Use of teargas grenade | |
| Use of rubber bullets weapon (LBD40 type) | |
| Use of batons | |
| Use of Pepper Spray | |
| Use of Taser gun | |
| Use of tranquillisers |
Psychological violence
| Charge of disturbing public order | |
| Charge of rebellion | |
| Accusation of beatings to officer | |
| Charge of threatening officer | |
| Charge of insulting an officer | |
| Charge of disrespect | |
| Charge of resisting arrest | |
| Photographs, fingerprints, DNA | |
| Threat with a weapon | |
| X | Aggressive behaviour, disrespect, insults |
| Charging without warning | |
| Car chase | |
| Calls to end torment remained unheeded | |
| Sexist remarks | |
| Homophobic remarks | |
| Racist comments | |
| Violence by fellow police officers | |
| Passivity of police colleagues | |
| Lack or refusal of the police officer to identify him or herself | |
| Vexing or intimidating identity check | |
| Intimidation or arrest of witnesses | |
| Prevented from taking photographs or from filming the scene | |
| Refusal to notify someone or to telephone | |
| Refusal to administer a breathalyzer | |
| Refusal to fasten the seatbelt during transport | |
| Refusal to file a complaint | |
| Refusal to allow medical care or medication | |
| Lies, cover-ups, disappearance of evidence | |
| Undress before witnesses of the opposite sex | |
| Bend down naked in front of witnesses | |
| Lack of surveillance or monitoring during detention | |
| Lack of signature in the Personal Effects Register during detention | |
| Confiscation, deterioration, destruction of personal effects | |
| Pressure to sign documents | |
| Absence of a report | |
| Deprivation during detention (water, food) | |
| Inappropriate sanitary conditions during detention (temperature, hygiene, light) | |
| Complacency of doctors | |
| Kettling (corraling protestors to isolate them from the rest of the demonstration) | |
| Prolonged uncomfortable position |
- 10.20.2021 – Statement issued by Sheriff’s Office saying the video had been “selectively edited”
- 09.20.2021 – Probe opened by Sheriff’s Office
- 09.20.2021 – Agression of Shantel
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- Lawyer :
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- Petition : Sign the petition to fire Police officer Julio Alvarado for Assaulting Shantel Arnold]