A Westchester County police officer was charged Wednesday for using excessive force with a woman who was handcuffed last year.
Prosecutors say Mount Vernon police officer Ryan Hughes pushed the woman who had just been arrested into an interview room on Aug. 24, 2019. The woman tripped "over a small garbage pail" before her body slammed into the room's cinderblock wall. She was unable to break her own fall because her hands were cuffed behind her back at the time, Hughes' body camera footage showed.
The video, obtained by Black Westchester, captured Hughes saying "have a seat" before he pushed the woman and closed the door right after she hit the wall.
Before the incident, the woman appeared intoxicated and she was complaining of Huges harshly grabbing her neck, according to the criminal complaint and the video.
Underlying charges against the woman were dismissed earlier this year. Hughes, however, was charged Wednesday with Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, a misdemeanor.
Hughes is expected back in court on Aug. 18.
