SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Police Department is reviewing body camera footage after a bystander posted video online that appears to show an officer punching an eighth-grade girl three or four times outside of a birthday party last weekend.
Mayor Ivy Taylor issued a statement saying the video “is hard to watch and listen to” and that the department is reviewing the police body camera footage to determine exactly what happened.
The grainy footage was shot Saturday outside an event center where authorities say officers were called about two men fighting at a quinceanera, a Hispanic tradition of celebrating a girl’s 15th birthday.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that the 14-year-old girl was arrested on a charge of assaulting a public servant.
Her lawyer denies that she struck an officer.
The video appears to show the girl step toward the officer before he strikes her for the first time.
