Video shows police supervisor hitting woman at Puerto Rican Day festivities
A Philadelphia police supervisor hit a Puerto Rican Day reveler twice in the head so hard yesterday that the blows sent the woman to the ground and then she was charged in the incident, according to police and a video posted on YouTube Sunday.
Video shows police supervisor hitting woman at Puerto Rican Day festivities
Update: The highway patrol supervisor seen hitting the woman in the video has been identified by sources as Lt. Jonathan Josey II, a man who once nominated himself to be a Daily News Sexy Single.
Josey, 39, a Daily News Sexy Single in 2006, said his most outstanding features were his "charm and magnetic personality." He said he was looking for a "sexy, sexy, sexy" woman and was sick of meeting women that act like girls.
In July 2010 while he was off duty, Josey was stabbed outside a West Philly bar while trying to break up a fight. In March of 2010, he fatally shot an armed robber in Montgomery County when he interrupted a robbery at a 7-Eleven.
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A Philadelphia police supervisor hit a Puerto Rican Day reveler twice in the head so hard yesterday that the blows sent the woman to the ground and then she was charged in the incident, according to police and a video posted on YouTube Sunday.
When the video begins, it appears several revelers are spraying water on the street and on the police officers. It is unclear if the woman is one of them, but she does have what appears to be a water bottle in her hand.
A police supervisor in a white shirt seems to zero in on the woman and as she tries to walk away from him, he comes up behind her and hits her in the face and then in the back of the head. She falls to the ground and seems to be asking the officer "why" as he places handcuffs on her.
Once in handcuffs, she is led away by two other officers and is seen with blood on her face. All the while, a Puerto Rican flag hangs from the back of her pants.
The video, titled "Philadelphia Police Brutality" is 36 seconds long and had more than 3,800 views by 3:30 p.m.
Police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers said the department is "fully aware" of the video and what it depicts. He said the officer involved has been identified and Internal Affairs opened up an investigation in to the incident this morning. He said Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who is in San Diego at a conference, is also aware of the video.
Evers declined to publicly identify the officer, but did say he is a supervisor in Highway Patrol. He did not know if the officer had been placed on desk duty.
Police also declined to identify the woman, who was given a disorderly conduct citation for the incident. According to Evers, the 39-year-old woman's citation states "liquid and some other objects were thrown at a group of officers causing a large crowd."
She was the only person given a citation for the incident, Evers said.
The incident did not happen along the Puerto Rican Day Parade route, but rather, at 5th Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia, according to police.
Not cool— tonyjlive
The article states: " He comes up behind her and hits her in the face and then in the back of the head". Wow! That's the MO of the ghetto street thugs that assault people in packs...and hit them in the back of their head. I'm sure that they don't teach that method of assault at the Police Academy. I'd wager this rogue cop has a history of street violence before he became a cop. And only a craven coward would go after a woman that way. ( By the way, it appears this woman did nothing wrong. The cops made an 'assumption' she tossed water....and like a pitbull, the cop was on her. Too many cops out of control in this city. I want to support the police, but like any group...teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc....you've got to give up your bandits...and comb the ticks, chiggers and lice from among your ranks.— Yermak29- Very manly move...— DelcoSchmelco
- Ramsey: "Why did you punch that woman in the face?" Supervisor: "I thought she threw water at us. She was also seen jumping up and down at a parade. " Ramsey: "You THOUGHT she threw water at you, and with no questioning, no investigation, no nothing, you just punched her in the face?" Supervisor: "Yes, sir. In my defense, I didn't know I was being filmed at the time." Ramsey: "Congratulations, you have been promoted. NEXT!!"— one_eyed_jack
- From the video I saw, she was given a facial with the palm of his hand. She was not punched. Do we see what we want to see when the police are involved?— cpepe
Comment removed.- Seriously? You think he acted "100% properly"? I can agree with you that if she sprayed anything on the officers, she should be arrested, but was it proper to punch her in the face from behind when it's obvious that he could have subdued her easily without hitting her? The man outweighs her by 100 lbs! No, the fact is that getting sprayed with anything pissed him off, and he lashed out. — sfactor
- I do not agree. From the video, it looked like something was being sprayed at the direction of the police but it is not immediately apparent that the civilan which the cop punched was the person responsible for it. There must be a thorough and complete investigation and judgement should be suspended until the facts are established. — jverlin
- What's the big deal? This is SOP for the PPD when dealing with minority citizens of any stripe.
Anyone who walks on a street where the cops are gathering deserves anything that happens to them.— JeffJenk - A complete over reaction.— lulu
- Thanks for the update. Josey should be fired and charged criminally. But Ramsey will probably be forced to give him a promotion.— manyhats
- Ugh…there goes more of my money to pay for this cop while assigned to "desk duty." Exactly the 47% Romney was talking about. Police, Fire, teachers - all dependent on gov't. Privatize all of it and stop this bottom feeder mentality.— rubberguard
- This story will get air time in Philadelphia. But I hope you realize in newsrooms throughout the country, they will conspire to block coverage of this story. If they show a black cop smashing a Puerto Rican girl for no reason it will hurt Obama with the Hispanic vote. So main stream media will not cover this story. and this poor girl did nothing. the idiot behind her threw the water and she got bashed because of it. Cop ought to get fired, but he won't.— macaroni
- Visible in the video are four police officers who saw him hit her from closeup. Also visible are two police officers farther away looking in the general direction but it's not clear if they saw it.— HowardJWilk
- From ease with which he struck her, I'm willing to bet that, that is not the first time Lt. Josey II has hit a woman.— CA through and through
