Community leaders in Kansas City, Missouri are demanding the termination of the police officer seen kneeling on the back of a pregnant Black woman in a viral clip of an arrest gone awry.

Deja Stallings, 25, had an officer perched on her back while she was being arrested for interfering with a separate arrest of a man who refused to listen when police asked him to leave a property, according to NBC 12. Police say Stallings, whose lawyer says she is nine months pregnant, “allegedly grabbed and touched responding officers” and was being detained for physically intervening.

Kansas City police spokesman Capt. Dave Jackson said at a press conference that a security officer for a local business called police on a group of 15-20 people fighting around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night.

When officers arrived on the scene, they tried to break up the crowd but met resistance. A confrontation ensued when they tried to arrest a man they told to leave, per NBC 10.

Jackson said the man tried to run away, but tripped, and officers attempted to handcuff him when Stallings and another man jumped into the fray.

The police spokesperson said the 25 year old woman first resisted arrest while standing before she was taken to the ground. Jackson said the officer did not intentionally use pressure from his knee to hurt Stalling’s back, but instead the officer’s form was meant to keep weight on his foot to limit damage to the woman.

Additional video shows @kcpolice twisting 9 months pregnant woman’s arm and AGGRESSIVELY kneeling on her back Wednesday. #retweet
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— Attorney Stacy Shaw (@StacyShawLaw) October 2, 2020

“We would take great care in order to avoid injury or exacerbating the situation,” Jackson said. “We understand the emotions of dealing with anybody from children or pregnant people or disabled people. We understand.”

Police shared surveillance video of the incident that they say depict a more full picture of the events on Friday, NBC 10 reports.

Stacy Shaw, an attorney representing Stallings, said her client was attending a tribute event for a homicide victim and was recording the arrest of the man when an officer bumped into her, pushing her to the ground, according to the Kansas City Star.

“Why was it necessary to handcuff and to put a knee on a pregnant woman’s back when she is nine months pregnant? What sort of monsters would do that to a pregnant woman?” Shaw asked. “There is no end to the brutality and the lack of humanity from the Kansas City Police Department. There will be no end until we imagine a different type of community safety.”

Police officials didn’t identify the man they arrested but revealed that he has been processed. They said Stallings was “arrested for hindering and interfering,” but was later released after being checked at a hospital per the Star.

Shaw said Stallings was released from the hospital Thursday morning, but went back to there Thursday evening in “extraordinary“ pain and other ailments.

On Friday, activists protested in front of the Kansas City Police Headquarters after the video went viral on social media.

“The people are organizing now and we demand justice for this woman and all of the victims of police violence in Kansas City,” Black Rainbow organizer Ray Billis said.

The police have directed anyone involved with the incident who would like to file a complaint against the department to contact the KCPD’s Office of Community Complaints.

Ray-Billis

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