A police officer in Colorado has been terminated from his position after striking a handcuffed woman in the face, following an incident where she spat on him during a vulgar outburst at a local hospital.
The encounter unfolded around 8:30 p.m. on May 20, when the Loveland Police Department (LPD) received multiple reports of a woman exhibiting bizarre behavior and wandering into traffic in the vicinity of East 29th Street and North Garfield Avenue, according to CBS News.
Officers eventually made contact with the woman, later identified as 59-year-old Angelia Hall, according to KDVR. Body camera footage revealed that the police suspected Hall of being intoxicated and detected the odor of alcohol on her.
Hall was placed under protective custody and transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies. On June 9, the LPD released approximately 90 minutes of body camera video showing the handcuffed woman berating the officers both inside the patrol car and at the hospital, where she directed profanities at them.
In the footage, Hall can be seen spitting at a hospital worker while hurling insults, racial slurs and vulgar names at the officers and nurses in an examination room. Loveland Police Officer Russell Maranto, aged 28, had previously informed Hall that a piece of paper she was holding when she was apprehended needed to be taken away in compliance with hospital policies.
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During Hall’s outburst in the examination room, Officer Maranto managed to retrieve the paper from her hands. This action further agitated Hall, as shown in the video. She proceeded to verbally attack a nurse who was attempting to assist her, resorting to derogatory language.
Officer Maranto had his hand on Hall’s shoulder, seemingly trying to maintain her seated position when she suddenly turned her focus back to him. Hall raised her knee and pushed against his body with her lower leg, as captured in the video. He warned her that he would defend himself if she attempted to kick him.
Hall proceeded to call Officer Maranto an offensive term and then spat on his chest, according to the video. In response, the officer immediately struck her in the face before pulling her to a standing position. Another officer intervened and instructed Officer Maranto to step aside, while Hall loudly claimed that she had been hit and demanded the video.
The LPD concluded that Officer Maranto responded inappropriately and he was terminated from his position on May 23, after approximately one year of service with the LPD.
Angelia Hall has been charged with third-degree assault, according to CBS News. The Larimer County District Attorney’s Office is still deliberating whether to bring criminal charges against the former officer.
