Video shows a fired Colorado officer accused of hitting a handcuffed woman who allegedly spat at him
A Loveland, Colorado police officer has been fired after he allegedly hit a handcuffed woman in a hospital exam room, who appeared to have spat on him, authorities said.
In body camera footage of the May 20 incident shared by the Loveland Police Department on Friday, the woman verbally abused officer Russell Maranto as she was escorted to a chair. She can be heard calling the cops’ names, including a “piece of shit.” When the officer takes a piece of paper from her, she seems to get even angrier.
“Hey, give it back to me you fucking piece of shit,” she says. “Hey, I can have it. Why can’t I have a piece of paper?”
The video shows the woman, identified as Angelia Hall, 59, spitting on the floor while continuing to demand that the piece of paper be returned to her. She continues to scream before spitting at the officer.
In the video, Maranto punches the woman in the face. A second officer intervenes and steps between the two. The woman yells that she wants a video of the officer allegedly beating her.
“He fucking punched me in the face,” she yells. “I want a video of it. I didn’t touch him. My hands are handcuffed. … I can’t even fight back.”
In a video statement on Friday, Police Chief Tim Doran commended the second officer for his intervention, saying that the officers “were verbally harassed by excessive profanity and periodic racial slurs.” He said a supervisor was called into the exam room and reported immediately.
“Loveland, our police department is full of courageous, respectful and honorable officers and we all agree that inappropriate behavior will never be tolerated or downplayed by your department,” he said.
Prosecutors are still reviewing criminal charges against 28-year-old Maranto, police said. Hall was charged with third-degree assault, police said.
At the time of the incident, Maranto had been with the department for less than a year. It’s not clear if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. The police union did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Hall could not be contacted.
Police came under fire in 2020 when a now-former officer injured an elderly woman with dementia during an arrest. Officer Austin Hopp pleaded guilty in connection with the arrest of Karen Garner on June 26, 2020 and was sentenced to five years in prison.
