Group Delivers Petitions In Support Of Dyma Loving To Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Members of two different activist groups delivered more than 50-thousand signatures from two petitions to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in support of Dyma Loving.
As this happened, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said a decision, in this case, will be announced next.
Loving said she was assaulted when she was arrested last month outside a home in southwest Miami-Dade.
The groups want Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to hold the officers involved in Loving's arrest accountable for their actions.
"The violence against Dyma Loving at the hands of Miami-Dade Police is indefensible and inexcusable. She did not provoke it and she did not deserve it. Too often, when we talk about police violence against the black community, we overlook the violence inflicted on black women and girls. We demand justice for the violent actions of the police against Dyma Loving," said Clarise McCants with Color Of Change.
Marybeth Onyeukwu, the Senior Campaign Manager for Criminal Justice for Color of Change, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "We are calling on the State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to press charges against the officers because of Dyma Loving's nightmare."
Activist Natalie Green said "We think it is important for people to realize that police violence against black women is epidemic and it happens all over the country and we should not ignore that. Dyma Loving called for help and instead, she was met with inexcusable racist violence and Officer Giraldo should be prosecuted and Dyma Loving deserves justice."
On March 5th, Loving, called 911 after she said she and her friend Adrianna Green were threatened by Frank Tumm, who pointed a gun at them and allegedly said he would "shoot [her] burnt black-ass face off [her] neck," as they walked by his home in the 1300 block of SW 201st Street.
After calling the police to report this incident, a group of Miami-Dade police officers, including Alejandro Giraldo, arrived at the scene.
Loving claims that instead of receiving protection from the police, she was instead assaulted by Giraldo.
The entire incident was caught on cellphone video and Giraldo's body cam.
On the body cam video, Loving is repeatedly told by Miami-Dade police officers to calm down.
"You need to chill out," says one officer. "You need to chill out because now you can be arrested. You are being disorderly right now and you can be arrested. I am going to give you one more chance."
Loving says she is "calm" and says "I just want to go to talk to my kids."
"You're screaming and you are acting disorderly. You will be arrested, okay, calm down," said an officer.
"Why am I going to be arrested when I was just threatened and I need to talk to my daughter on the phone?" She asks.
On the videos, you hear Loving repeatedly saying, "Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Don't touch me."
When Giraldo tried to handcuff her and she resisted, he put both arms around her head and dragged her to the ground.
She was then taken into custody and charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Those charges were eventually dropped.
Loving is filing a civil lawsuit against the Miami-Dade police department and the officers involved.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez relieved Giraldo off duty immediately after reviewing the body cam video and has said the investigation is still open. He said anyone who violated police policies would be held accountable.
Ed Griffith, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office, released a statement saying, "As prosecutors, we always appreciate receiving public input, particularly input that may be supportive of potential victims of crime. We have already met with Dyma Loving, Adrianna Green and the leadership of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, having previously dropped the charges officers had filed against Ms. Loving. We have taken the sworn statements of Ms. Loving, Ms. Green, and all the other available witnesses and obtained and reviewed all the known video evidence. We are close to completing our investigation. The officer has been notified that our decision is imminent and will be announced next week."
