Florida police officer fired after 'punching handcuffed woman'

Police said the officer had also been arrested over the incident which was captured on video

A police officer from Florida has been fired and arrested after he was caught on video beating a handcuffed woman.

Probationary officer Akinyemi Borisade from Jacksonville, was captured on the footage repeatedly hitting 31-year-old Mayra Martinez on Wednesday at the Duval County Jail. Ms Martinez, the employee of a strip club, had been detained after a disturbance at the club she had worked at.

At the jail, Mr Borisade struck Ms Martinez several times after she had tried to kick him. She then sat slumped next to a rubbish bin can as other officers looked on.


 Martinez was charged with trespassing and resisting the police. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
 (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

“There are ways that this could have been dealt with without striking her,” Undersheriff Pat Ivey told the Florida Times-Union.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it had both fired and arrested Mr Borisade, 26, who had been with the department for little more than a year.

“When we see an officer do something like this, we have to respond quickly,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told reporters on Friday.

“We are accountable to the community for how these officers act. They are accountable for their actions.”

Reports said the incident had happened on Wednesday after officers were called to Scores Gentlemen's Club in after receiving complaints of Ms Martinez's behavior.

An employee said Ms Martinez consumed four shots of 100-proof liquor, according to the Times-Union, and decided to quit her job even though she had just starting working there. When officers arrived, she resisted and did not want to leave.

Ms Martinez was charged with trespassing and resisting the police.