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Miami Dade Officer Charged After Violent Arrest Of Black Woman Who Called For Help

Screengrab police bodycam video
Dyma Loving, right, with her friend before a Miami-Dade polic officer tackled her to the ground after calling for help.

A Miami-Dade police officer who was caught on video throwing a young black woman to the ground and arresting her after she called for help is now facing charges from that incident. 

Officer Alejandro Giraldo turned himself into the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office Friday and was charged with battery and official misconduct. 

On March 5, Dyma Loving was leaving her friend's home when the two women were confronted by a neighbor. They called police after they say the man, who is white, pulled a gun on them. 

Videos from that day show an emotional Loving saying, "My life was threatened" as officers tell her she needs to calm down. 

An officer on the video can be heard saying "She needs to be corrected if anything."

Loving responds "Why do I have to be corrected when my life was just threatened?"

That's when Giraldo and another officer can be seen pushing Loving into a chainlink fence and grabbing her as she screams "Do not touch me."

Giraldo, a field training officer with the department, grabs around her neck and throws her onto the ground, placing his weight on top of her while two other officers help him.

Miami-Dade's police chief suspended Giraldo after the video went viral and wrote on Twitter, "I find the actions depicted on the video deeply troubling and in no way reflective of our core values of integrity, respect, service, and fairness."

Last month, a group of activists delivered 50,000 signatures to the state attorney's office asking for Giraldo's arrest. 

Loving has filed suit against the Miami-Dade police department. Giraldo is expected to be arraigned later this month. 

Justin Moore, one of Loving's attorneys, wrote in a press release that his client is happy there was an arrest. 

“We want to applaud the State Attorney’s Office for seeking formal charges for Officer Alejandro Giraldo, the lead perpetrator of the crimes committed against Dyma Loving," he wrote. "It is well known that police officers rarely face criminal liability for criminal behavior in this country."

He also called for the two other officers who helped arrest Loving to face similar charges.

All charges against Loving after her arrest were dropped. 

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