Exactly and since there has been no previous history of things like this, and he's never been in trouble before, and he's been (I think it stated) an exemplary officer, it should be dealt with appropriately. Charging him and sending him to jail is overdoing it. WAY overdoing it.
Once again, we expect the cops to be aggressive defenders of our freedoms yet if they step over the line even the slightest bit, we poo poo and bemoan them when it happens.
Auggie: there aren't any limits to how a fleeing suspect is taken down. The force necessary is usually determined by the suspect. If they comply? They go into the car unscathed. If they resist? Force is escalated until they go into the car. The police are not allowed to simply "let someone go". Their job is to stop, detain and arrest someone if need be. The only thing wrong in this case is that the wall was there and she banged into it. If she had just been knocked to the ground nothing would be said.
The thing that everyone misses is that a) she was going to be taken down, no matter what since SHE decided to flee. b) the officer used a reccommended standard police tactic to take her down.
She didn't deserve or get a beating. As for whether or not the police get to decide who does or doesn't, since they are the front line people who see everything everyday, maybe they SHOULD be given the power instead of the legal system. If you watch the show "cops" enough you can see how they handle people. If someone complies, no matter how big an asshole they are, the cops treat them with respect. If they resist? They are taken down. If they really resist and run? They are taken down hard. If they fight? They lose...BIG time. I'm ok with that.
I believe the law (up here) states that if the police have reasonable cause to require you to identify yourself, you have to comply. If you don't, they have cause to detain you. If you get physical with them, they have cause to get physical with you. If you decide to fight or flee, YOU've decided to escalate it and deserve whatever you're going to get.....
I still say if it was a 180 lbs 6' male who had just beat up a woman, we wouldn't be having this conversation.........