Woman Beaten By DeKalb Officer Treated For 'Physical And Emotional' Injuries: Attorney

DECATUR, GA -- A woman seen on a viral video being beaten by a DeKalb County police officer is being treated for "physical and emotional injuries" more than a month after the incident, her lawyer told Patch. Katie McCrary and her family have retained the services of Broderick & Reed, P.C. law firm in Decatur.

In the June 4 incident, DeKalb County police officer Officer P.J. Larscheid responded to a call about a woman begging customers for money at a Chevron gas station on Glenwood Road in Decatur. He ends up pinning her to the ground and beating her into submission. The incident has been widely condemned by community activists as well as state lawmakers.

Decatur attorney Amber Reed said in a statement to Patch, that what McCrary went through is "frankly, barbaric." (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.)

Here is what Reed said in a statement about McCrary and the incident:

Katie McCrary, the woman who is seen in the video being beaten and assaulted by Officer Larscheid, is undergoing treatment for her physical and emotional injuries. What the video shows is a deliberate and excessive use of force at the hands of Officer Larscheid.

Although the video is self-explanatory and depicts excessive, abusive, and frankly, barbaric policing tactics, we still await the investigative report from the GBI and DeKalb County Police Department.

Ms. McCrary was unarmed and displayed no violent behavior or threat towards Officer Larscheid or other patrons. The Officers aggression and threats of deadly force towards Ms. McCrary only served to escalate a situation that should have been handled without violence or physical harm.

The incident, which is being investigated again by DeKalb officials as well as the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, has even pulled in a state lawmaker. State Rep. Renitta Shannon said that she expects to meet Friday with DeKalb's police chief to get to the bottom of the matter.

Read more: GBI probes DeKalb officer's beating of homeless woman

"The community and I are deeply disturbed by this officer's actions," Shannon said, according to WGCL-TV. "I realize that this incident is currently being investigated by the GBI, but I have reached out to DeKalb County Police Chief J.W. Conroy and have a meeting scheduled for Friday, July 21 to discuss concerns about community interactions with police."

Community members have congregated at the gas station on different occasions, chanting justice for McCrary and that the officer be fired. Larscheid has been put on restricted duty pending the results of the investigation.

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

She told the New York 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 / Pdre's Global Webcast