JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sheriff Mike Williams has offered an apology to a woman who was seen on video being beaten by a Jacksonville police officer while she was handcuffed.
Mayra Martinez was at her first day of work at Scores, an adult club on University Boulevard near Philips Highway, when she refused to leave and police were called on April 27, 2016.
Officers said she was drunk and that when they tried to take her into custody, she resisted. Her violent arrest in the parking lot, which involved a take down and hog tying, was caught on camera.
Officer Akinyemi Borisade later shoved Martinez against a wall in the sally port and after she appeared to try to kick at him, he struck her several times while she was still handcuffed, knocking her out cold. She was taken down a third time that day when officers tried to remove a nose ring from her face. Both of those incidents were also caught on tape.
RELATED: I-TEAM: Woman beaten by JSO officer breaks silence
That particular video, to me, shows that not only a violation of excessive force but a violation of the law.”
Four other JSO officers are seen standing around the sally port. Borisade was arrested for simple battery and fired.
Sheriff Williams had this message for Martinez in a deposition video recorded Tuesday:
“I will take the opportunity to apologize to Ms. Martinez for the way she was treated while going to jail. In my view it was inappropriate, excessive, and again an apology for that to her, and we wish her well.”
Martinez was awarded a $92,500 settlement.
In the video, attorney John Phillips, who represents Martinez, asks Williams several questions about how the case was handled.
Phillips: “From your review then, recollection, and your review now in the sally port, was that a violation of JSO policy and procedures?
Williams: “Yes.”
Phillips: “Why?”
Williams: “That particular video, to me, shows that not only a violation of excessive force but a violation of the law.”
Phillips told News4Jax that he hopes the outcome for the case will create change.
“It was more than the apology,” he said. “It was her desire to couple what happened to her with training so that it doesn’t happen again.”