In Memory Of: Black Women Who Died Unjustly

Alesia Thomas

At least five police officers were under investigation after a woman died during a violent arrest in which an officer kicked her in her genitals. Alesia Thomas, 35, died July 22, 2012.The confrontation with officers occurred after she abandoned her 3-year-old and 12-year-old children at a police station around 2 a.m. and they wandered inside, drawing the attention of an officer, police said. Police Cmdr. Bob Green said the woman was giving up the children because she was a drug addict who could not care for them. Police tracked down the South Los Angeles resident and were trying to arrest her on suspicion of child endangerment, when she supposedly “put up a violent struggle” and “she began actively resisting arrest, attempting to pull away from the officers.”

One officer knocked Alesia to the ground by sweeping her legs out from beneath her and two other officers then handcuffed Thomas behind her back and attempted to lead her to a patrol car according to the department’s official report. Two other officers also arrived at the scene.Green said Thomas was a large woman and officers used a “hobble restraint device” – a strap that was wrapped around her ankles. Green confirmed to the Times that during the struggle to get Thomas into the back of the patrol car, a female officer threatened to kick Thomas in the genitals and then did so. Once Thomas was in the car, video showed her breathing shallowly until she ultimately drew her last breath.