Cop's Beating Of Homeless Woman Probed By GBI

DECATUR, GA -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into a DeKalb County police officer's beating of a homeless woman, which was caught on camera and shared on the internet. The video, which has gone viral, has stirred emotions in this community just outside Atlanta.

Days after a video showing a homeless woman being struck repeatedly with a baton by a DeKalb County police officer went viral, this community just outside Atlanta continues to stir with emotion. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Decatur Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has agreed to conduct an investigation of a June 4 use of force incident involving DeKalb Police Officer P.J. Larscheid," the GBI said late Thursday. "The request was made following a meeting with DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, who stressed the importance of a factual, independent investigation based on the new video evidence and other pertinent information.”

Near the end of the 1 minute-39 second video, the woman identified as Katie McCrary can be seen asking, "What did I do?” Her question was preceded by rapid strikes from the officer's baton, who yells at her to "Put your hands behind your back!"

At one point in the clip, McCrary grabs the baton in an attempt to stop the onslaught. “Let go or I’m going to shoot you,” Larscheid says in the video, and she complies. He then bends her arms around her back and handcuffs her.

Larscheid, a 2014 Lions Club International Police Officer of the Year, has been placed him on “restrictive/administrative duty.”

Meanwhile, Katie McCrary, 38, is behind bars on a prostitution charge that came days later.

In the police report of the incident, Larscheid states that McCrary pushed him, prompting his reaction.

The video was taken by Stacy Zachery, 41, at the gas station at Glenwood Road and Line Street. Days after sharing it with only family and friends, her son posted it on her YouTube, according to the New York Times. The clip was met with instant condemnation, with many people decrying the officer's tactics on what they see as a defenseless civilian.

“It is just disgusting to watch her get beaten like that,” Francys Johnson, president of the Georgia NAACP, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If she were an animal … if she were a dog, the officer would have already lost his job.”

The fate of Larscheid's job remains to be seen, according to DeKalb police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell.

She told the Times that the department is still determining whether the officer acted appropriately. “It’s not that we’re saying he did something wrong,” she was quoted as saying. “We’re just looking at the video to make sure that it aligns with his original statement.”

Image via Youtube / Stacy Zachery