Skip to main content
Clear icon
51º

Police release full video of officer beating woman

Paramedics arrive 15 minutes after Mayra Martinez punched

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The full video of a rookie officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office hitting a 31-year-old woman while she was handcuffed was released Monday after part of the video was made public by police last month. 

The sheriff fired officer Akinyemi Borisade after cameras captured footage of him repeatedly striking Mayra Martinez while she was in handcuffs just outside the jail.

The new video released by the Sheriff’s Office is more than two hours long. 

John Phillips, Martinez's attorney, told News4Jax he had not yet watched the entire video. But he said he is absolutely disgusted at what he has heard and believes his client could have died.

"It's one of the most egregious breaches of civil rights all-around that I've ever seen," Phillips said.

Phillips said his heart aches for his client, and the incident as a whole is shocking and offensive.

"The summary that I got was that she was unconscious for over 10 minutes. And you wouldn't treat a dog like that. She was knocked out, knocked unconscious and no officer rendered aid. At what point does support and protect turn into ignore?" Phillips said.  

About 1 hour and 7 minutes into the video, Martinez, who was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, is brought into the sallyport.

Fourteen minutes later, it appears Martinez is yelling at an officer.

Eleven minutes after that, Borisade walks over and shoves Martinez into a wall. She kicks him and then he punches her.

Phillips said that part of the video is medically important.

"Her doctors need to see how long she was passed out. I mean it's so significant and to withhold it for, now 2 1/2 weeks, it really is frustrating. It's unfortunate," Phillips said.

In the video, paramedics arrived 15 minutes later.

They tended to Martinez on the ground. She was not transported to the hospital.

After 10 minutes of tending to her, the paramedics walked away but remained in the sallyport.

Thirteen minutes later, Martinez is seen against a trash can, trying to flip the lid with her feet.

Seconds later, she sat up on her own.

Less than two minutes after she sits up, she's led into the jail.

Phillips said that his team is not blaming emergency medical technicians, but the officer who hit Martinez.

"The officer is the first and foremost candidate on our list. He's the one who breached her civil rights with physical force," Phillips said. "To leave her unconscious for 10 minutes is stunning and offensive. And then to render aid and still leave her in there, it's just you don't want your daughters treated like that. And we should all treat each other like we want to be treated." 

News4Jax also obtained video last month, which appears to be shot by a dashboard camera, taken in a parking lot in front of Scores, an adult club on University Boulevard at Philips Highway. According to the police report, they were called to the bar to escort Martinez from the property because she was drunk and belligerent after quitting work on her first day.

Martinez told the News4Jax I-TEAM last week that she's recovering from a concussion and nerve damage. 

The sheriff said he is investigating the actions of the other officers in the video. 

Crime analyst says officer crossed the line

Gil Smith, News4Jax crime and safety analyst, said he couldn't believe what he saw in the video and at least one of the officers crossed the line.

He said that if the officers had called the jail and told them that they may have had a combative prisoner who needed to be processed quickly, then maybe it wouldn't have happened.

"She should've been standing there and waiting to go in, but she's not. She may be argumentative, anything, but she's apparently very frustrated and angry at the officer," Smith said.

Smith said dealing with angry prisoners is part of the job, but what should never be a part of an officer's daily routine is what he viewed in the full video released by the Sheriff's Office.

"It's hard to tell what she's saying or if she's saying anything at all. But it seems like she may because she's going to her handcuffs. Maybe they're too tight or she's not comfortable," Smith said.

But Smith said he does commend one of the officers for coming over to help Borisade. He said, however, he has a problem with the 15 minutes that go by without anyone doing anything. 

"She goes down to the ground. Someone should have checked on her just to see if she's OK. She may have hit her head but the officer who appeared to be stopping the violence does go over to the window and says something to their corrections officer on the inside," Smith said.

That officer may have been the one to call for the EMTs that arrived 15 minutes later and tended to Martinez, who was still on the ground, Smith said. 

Smith reiterated no matter how combative a prisoner gets, it is the job of the police to serve and protect. 

"Even though she was kicking on him and maybe cursing at him, that's what police officers deal with," Smith said. "I've been called every name in the book so many times. That's just what prisoners do sometimes. We deal with that. You're trying to deal with that and not to act out aggressively because someone is being verbally abusive."


Recommended Videos