Video Appears To Show Police Officer With Knee On Woman's Neck

MIAMI, FL — The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office released video Thursday of a former Miami Gardens police officer that appears to show the officer pulling a Black woman from her car, placing his knee on her neck and twice using his stun gun on the woman's stomach while she lay on the ground.

Former Officer Jordy Yanes Martel of Hialeah was charged with two counts of official misconduct and four counts of battery in connection with the January incident that took place outside Tootsie’s Cabaret on 183rd Street in Miami where the uniformed Yanes Martel was working an off-duty security job.

"Martel allegedly used excessive force by putting his knee on Ms. Satchell's neck," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told reporters in announcing the charges. The state attorney was joined by Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt and representatives of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"This officer had a lot of options. He could have made other choices, but he didn’t choose that," Noel-Pratt said. "He made a bad decision that day, and as a result, he can no longer be part of the Miami Gardens Police Department."

Yanes Martel turned himself into the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Miami office, which started an investigation into the case on June 11 at the request of Fernandez Rundle.

Investigators said the manager of the strip club told agents he asked Yanes Martel to give the woman a trespass warning after she threw a tip at a waitress.

Watch video of the incident below courtesy of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office:

"Yanes Martel told the victim she was being trespassed and told her to get out of her car and walk to his police car," FDLE said. "The victim refused to walk to the police car and instead offered to drive over. While the suspect had no legal authority to detain the victim, he forcibly removed her from her vehicle."

Once he pulled her from her car, Yanes Martel took the victim to the ground and knelt on her neck, according to FDLE.

"While officers had control over both of the victim's arms, Yanes Martel tased the victim twice on the stomach," FDLE said. "The victim suffered numerous cuts and bruises as well as abrasions on her stomach from the Taser."

“It is so important that allegations of excessive use of force in law enforcement are fully investigated, not only for the betterment of the community, but also for those law enforcement officers dedicated to public service and helping others,” said FDLE Miami Special Agent in Charge Troy Walker. “We appreciate our partnership with State Attorney Kathleen Fernandez Rundle and Miami Gardens PD.”

Fernandez Rundle described the incident as a "basic lack of respect" leading to a violent arrest.

"We believe a review of the video reflects that Martel allegedly was the aggressor when he went into Satchell's car without any evidence that Satchell had committed a crime," Fernandez Rundle said.

Yanes Martel was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $6,000 bond. He was fired from Miami Gardens Police Department last week.

The FDLE said Yanes Martel is the subject of another ongoing FDLE investigation.