LULING, La. — Shocking body camera and cell phone video showing a St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s deputy punch a woman in the face multiple times is causing an uproar within the community.
According to authorities, the encounter occurred when deputies attempted to arrest Keith Robinson for a felony probation warrant. The videos show Deputy Henry Sill approach Robinson and asking to talk. Robinson runs off with Sill giving chase.
The chase continues for about 20 seconds until Robinson is stopped by a female officer. He gets on the ground and is handcuffed. As he is being cuffed, his sister MaryLee Robinson, approaches and asks why her brother was Tased.
As Sill pushes Robinson to the car with his arm interlocked under the cuffed man’s arms, Robinson and his sister can be heard complaining about the way the officer is handling the cuffed man.
“Yall see what this police officer is doing to him,” MaryLee says while she records with her cell phone.
Robinson does not appear to be resisting as he is searched and put in the police vehicle and MaryLee is not interfering with the arrest as she stands a distance away and continues to record with her phone.
After Robinson is placed in the car, Sill suddenly rushes MaryLee without warning. Cell phone video of the encounter appears to show Sill tossed MaryLee against a trailer. She goes to the ground and the deputy punches her several times.
“I was really just confused, like why is my hair being pulled,? Why and I being run after? Why am I not being told freeze? Why am I being punched on? Why am I being thrown up against the trailer after surrendering and not hitting back?” MaryLee told WWL-TV.
In an interview Tuesday the sheriff’s office said it stands by its deputy and his actions.
“They told her to get back. She didn’t. We allowed her to record. We told her she could continue to record. We just needed her to get away. She refused. She kept coming up to the scene interfering,” Chief Deputy Rodney Madere said. “When he did catch her she swung and punched him in the face. Our officer then was able to push her away to create distance when she fell to the ground our officer came in and she swung a second time.”
The sheriff’s office said MaryLee refused treatment at the scene. She was taken to the hospital after leaving jail to be checked out because of medical issues.
Both the sheriff’s office and the NAACP are doing independent investigations into the case.
“The young lady may possibly have a concussion and she has not received adequate medical care,” Jermeine Luckett, lead investigator with the NAACP said.
MaryLee was charged with interfering with a law enforcement investigation, criminal damage to property, battery of a police officer, disturbing the peace and resisting an officer with force or violence.
She is set to be in court again June 20.
St. Charles Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Dep. Henry Sill threw MaryLee Breon Robinson against a building & punched her for allegedly “interfering” & recording her brother’s arrest. Since when does aiding transparency of a police incident justify such excessive force? He must be FIRED! pic.twitter.com/lvuFAP1DIX
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) May 5, 2022
