Unhinged Cops Punched and Abused a Woman During a VIOLENT ARREST

追加: 2026-05-05

[00:00:06]On the night of December 8th, 2025, officer Nicholas Easley of the Centriia Police Department in Centriia, Illinois, responded to a call regarding an unconscious female lying in a ditch.

[00:00:17]Upon arrival, Officer Easley located the subject, later identified as Leanne Harding, lying on the ground. The interaction that followed was captured on officer body camera.

[00:00:27]>> 911. What's the address for emergency?

[00:00:30]>> Um 428 North Cherry Street. Um my boyfriend just went outside to take trash out and there's a girl passed out or unconscious in the ditch in front of my house. Should we try to say something to her, but she's not responding? I We don't even know who she is.

[00:00:47]>> Is she breathing?

[00:00:48]>> Um is she breathing? I don't know. I can go out and check her. I mean, he said he walked up and yelled at her, but didn't say nothing. I don't know how to do CPR.

[00:00:58]So, >> okay. Let me know if she when you get there, too.

[00:01:01]>> Hello, ma'am.

[00:01:05]>> I don't know. I don't think so. I don't know.

[00:01:07]>> Okay. I'll get help on the way.

[00:01:09]>> All right. Thank you.

[00:01:10]>> You're welcome. Bye.

[00:01:20]>> We don't even know where she is. He She wasn't here when we pulled up, but then he took the trash out and that she was here. And we've been here home for probably about 15 minutes tops.

[00:01:30]>> Okay.

[00:01:32]Look like she's bleeding.

[00:01:38]I don't know if yours.

[00:01:52]Hello. Wake up for me.

[00:02:00]N she's breathing. She's just unconscious.

[00:02:06]Trey, please. There you go. Wake up.

[00:02:10]Wake up for me. Trey, please.

[00:02:14]Wake up.

[00:02:22]Wake up.

[00:02:26]>> No. Okay.

[00:02:27]>> Not much of an option. Wake up. We just got home like 60 minutes ago there and then but she was taking >> wake up.

[00:02:39]>> Hey, >> it's not much of a game anymore.

[00:02:45]>> Yeah, right. Exactly. And I don't know how to do these CPRs though.

[00:02:50]>> Centriia police, wake up. Come on.

[00:02:54]>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. You really definitely not something that usually happens.

[00:03:02]>> We just don't want to talk.

[00:03:15]>> Those are good.

[00:03:19]>> She's rolled over and woke up like four times. Just refuses to >> Yeah. time.

[00:03:25]At >> least this time it wasn't what I usually call her.

[00:03:29]She can sleep out here like that.

[00:03:33]>> I know.

[00:03:38]>> That's helpful.

[00:03:39]>> Yep.

[00:03:46]>> What the heck was that?

[00:03:48]>> Cool.

[00:03:53]a free thing.

[00:03:59]This will be fun.

[00:04:05]>> All right.

[00:04:07]>> That's a nice light you got right there.

[00:04:09]>> Pretty handy.

[00:04:13]>> Can we please not be stupid about this?

[00:04:16]Like, I'm I'm I'm actually begging you right now. Can you please just get up on the C?

[00:04:34]>> I know her. I know her face. I just can't think of the name.

[00:04:38]>> Pretty sure she used to work at Burger King.

[00:04:43]>> Hey, >> there we go.

[00:04:44]>> That's her. I just don't know her name.

[00:04:48]a hard >> Oh, yeah.

[00:04:53]>> Too bad.

[00:04:57]>> Cool.

[00:04:58]>> I know where I where I want to go.

[00:05:01]>> Well, you can't answer my question. So therefore, you must have an altered mental status and you have to go to the hospital.

[00:05:06]>> I don't know.

[00:05:08]My boyfriend walk home. I I want to leave you alone, but you got to answer the questions.

[00:05:19]>> Okay, then let me just walk home.

[00:05:30]>> I know where I I know where I live. I'm going to go home.

[00:05:33]>> Okay.

[00:05:33]>> Can I go home?

[00:05:35]>> Yeah. take you home.

[00:05:37]>> No.

[00:05:38]>> Can I walk home?

[00:05:40]>> Where?

[00:05:43]>> That's what I thought. All right, get up.

[00:05:45]>> Not quite.

[00:05:52]>> Stand up.

[00:05:56]>> One of them.

[00:05:57]>> What is this?

[00:05:58]>> It's a strey.

[00:06:03]>> No.

[00:06:06]That's not been checked or anything. So you guys know >> that's my purse.

[00:06:12]>> We're not taking it.

[00:06:13]>> We're not taking it.

[00:06:14]>> Let me have it.

[00:06:15]>> They're going to look at it before.

[00:06:17]>> There's nothing in it.

[00:06:18]>> Well, we don't know that.

[00:06:19]>> It's my It's my pillar.

[00:06:21]>> Can I look at it so that they so that they know there's nothing in there that can harm them? Can I look at it?

[00:06:25]>> There's nothing going to harm them.

[00:06:26]>> Can I look at it?

[00:06:29]>> Nothing is going to harm you. You cannot have it.

[00:06:31]>> It's not going with you.

[00:06:32]>> You cannot have it. It's mine.

[00:06:45]I tried.

[00:06:54]>> Hey, enough of that. Knock it the [ __ ] off. You hit me again, YOU HIT ME.

[00:06:59]>> YOU HIT ME AGAIN, YOU'RE going to [ __ ] jail. You understand me? I DON'T NEED STRO.

[00:07:03]>> KNOCK IT THE [ __ ] OFF.

[00:07:04]>> I DON'T NEED STRO DEAD.

[00:07:05]>> YES, you do.

[00:07:07]>> Yeah. Okay.

[00:07:10]>> Call me again. I'll you up.

[00:07:15]>> She hit you in your ass.

[00:07:32]I'm not going. Let me go home.

[00:07:36]Let me >> If if you you hit one of them, I'm taking you.

[00:07:41]>> Take me then off me. If >> I was you, I'd just go with them and be a lot more peaceful.

[00:07:59]Sit down.

[00:08:01]Sit down.

[00:08:08]>> Get the off me.

[00:08:18]Not taking anything. It's mine.

[00:08:26]>> Off me.

[00:08:28]Let me go home. I know where I live. I'm going home.

[00:08:46]>> You'll bite people.

[00:08:46]>> He just bite you.

[00:08:52]>> You can go cops now.

[00:08:54]>> You're going to go to jail.

[00:08:55]>> After Ms. Harding allegedly bites one of the EMTs while she's being loaded onto the ambulance. The officers announced that she's going to jail instead of the hospital despite the fact that the EMS personnel had determined that she needed to be transported to the hospital for medical evaluation. As the Supreme Court explained in the 1989 case of Duchennei v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, when the state takes an individual into custody and holds them against their will, the 14th Amendment's due process clause imposes a duty to assume responsibility for the detainees safety and general well-being. Well, building on that foundation, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Illinois, held in the 2018 case of Miranda v. County of Lake that a pre-trial detainee who is denied or deprived of necessary medical care may bring a claim for a violation of the 14th amendment and that the governing question is whether the government's response or lack thereof to a known medical need was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances.

[00:09:50]Accordingly, if a court were to find that the officer's decision to redirect Miss Harding from hospital transport to a jail cell in the face of an existing EMS determination that she required medical care constituted an objectively unreasonable response to a known and serious medical need, well then a 14th Amendment violation would likely be established.

[00:10:09]>> Not going to jail.

[00:10:10]>> Yeah, you are. Please bring it back.

[00:10:17]All right.

[00:10:22]KNOCK IT OFF. YOU UNDERSTAND ME? STOP.

[00:10:25]It's going to be a real [ __ ] long night for you. Stop.

[00:10:32]>> All right.

[00:10:35]>> Y >> Well, you just want to pull the stretcher out and lower it back down.

[00:10:44]Simple. 20.

[00:10:50]Let me just go home.

[00:10:51]>> Nope.

[00:10:52]>> Yeah, I'm going to >> No, you're going to jail.

[00:10:54]>> I'm not going to jail.

[00:10:59]>> Get the off me.

[00:11:03]>> We got to get her on the Let me move my car. We got to get her on the passenger side on that left side.

[00:11:23]All right, let's just I guess swing her legs off best we can.

[00:11:28]>> Stop. Come on, my niece.

[00:11:33]>> All right, up we go. Up we go.

[00:11:39]You better stop trying to HIT ME. YOU UNDERSTAND ME? YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TRY TO KICK ME.

[00:11:49]Now sit down.

[00:11:53]>> What's your name?

[00:11:55]>> I don't have a name.

[00:11:56]>> All right, get in the car then. I don't have a name.

[00:12:09]Yeah, >> she said her name, did she not?

[00:12:15]>> I I know who she is.

[00:12:18]>> I see what you're saying now.

[00:12:19]>> I have your >> I know who she came in and I never heard.

[00:12:24]>> No, I thought it was her at first. It's not her. changed her mind and I don't think she ever said it.

[00:12:28]>> She used to work.

[00:12:28]>> I bet it's in there.

[00:12:29]>> She used to work at Burger King. I know who she is.

[00:12:31]>> Leanne.

[00:12:33]>> That's it.

[00:12:33]>> That's it. Yep.

[00:12:34]>> Can we get a quick statement from one of you guys?

[00:12:37]>> Yeah.

[00:12:37]>> If you don't care to >> Yeah, that's not going to happen.

[00:12:53]I'm just going to drive her.

[00:12:55]>> If you keep kicking the inside of that car, you're going to get sprayed. Do you understand?

[00:13:01]>> I don't give you what you're doing. You damage that car, you're going to get sprayed.

[00:13:07]>> Sergeant Hankle threatens to quote unquote spray Miss Harding if she continues to kick inside the police cruiser. Presumably referring to oolin capsicum, commonly known as OC or pepper spray. As the Supreme Court established in the 1989 case of Graham v. Connor, force used during an arrest must be quote unquote objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. This standard evaluates reasonleness based on the totality of the circumstances with particular attention given to the three so-called Graham factors, the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others, and whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to flee.

[00:13:45]As applied to pepper spray specifically, the seventh circuit court of appeals noted in the 2006 case of Graham v.

[00:13:51]Hildebrand that courts have broadly recognized two principles. OC spray is reasonable when an individual is actively resisting arrest or refusing to comply with lawful police commands, but excessive when deployed gratuitously against someone who's already restrained or otherwise passive. Here, the threat was directed at Ms. carding while she was handcuffed and secured in the rear of a patrol vehicle with property damage to the cruiser offered as justification.

[00:14:16]Under this framework, a court could potentially find that deploying OC spray against a restrained detainee in those circumstances would constitute an objectively unreasonable use of force in violation of the fourth amendment.

[00:14:28]However, a court could also conclude that if Miss Harding refused to stop kicking the inside of the vehicle, she was failing to comply with lawful police commands and therefore that the deployment of OC spray to gain compliance would not be excessive.

[00:14:41]>> I KNOW WHERE THE I LIVE. I'm not >> Come on. I'm not going to jail.

[00:15:00]Let me THE OUT OF YOUR god car now.

[00:15:05]>> Why am I going TO JAIL? I DIDN'T DO ANY MOTHER THING.

[00:15:15]>> Let me out.

[00:15:21]Let me out.

[00:15:26]COME ON.

[00:15:31]I'm just trying to go home.

[00:15:57]Choke.

[00:15:57]>> I'm going home.

[00:15:59]>> Sure you are.

[00:16:00]>> I am.

[00:16:02]>> Nice.

[00:16:03]>> You're doing Let go.

[00:16:07]>> You got to get up.

[00:16:08]>> Hurting me.

[00:16:09]>> Stand up then.

[00:16:10]>> I can't.

[00:16:11]>> Act like an adult. Stand up.

[00:16:12]>> I can't.

[00:16:13]>> Sure you can.

[00:16:14]>> I have my hand behind my back. I can barely stand up.

[00:16:16]>> I'm helping you. No, you're not. You're pulling on my arm. That's not helping me get up.

[00:16:22]>> I have a bad knee.

[00:16:24]>> Okay, we'll just wait for another person to get here then.

[00:16:28]Ready?

[00:16:29]>> No, I can't get up.

[00:16:31]>> All right, we got a guy right here. It's going to help us get inside since you decided to throw yourself on the ground.

[00:16:35]>> You threw me on the ground, mother.

[00:16:37]>> Oh, that's not how it went.

[00:16:38]>> You pull me out of car. Shut the up.

[00:16:41]>> Most people get out standing up >> and you pull me out. the you think you want to do. Stand up when you pull me out.

[00:16:48]>> You pulled me out.

[00:16:49]>> Get up or I'm going to spray you.

[00:16:51]>> Most people stand up.

[00:16:52]>> He pulled me out of the >> Listen, I'm sure.

[00:16:55]>> HE PULLED ME OUT.

[00:16:56]>> I'M HELPING.

[00:16:57]>> Shut the up.

[00:16:58]>> Get up.

[00:16:58]>> No.

[00:17:00]>> Help me. Could you You want to pull me out? NOW I CAN'T GET UP IN MY YOURSELF.

[00:17:04]GET YOUR >> GET YOUR LEG UNDERNEATH YOU.

[00:17:06]>> I can't.

[00:17:09]>> Just like that.

[00:17:10]>> I have a bading knee off, mother. Then maybe you should have stood up.

[00:17:15]>> You don't even know what the I'm going through right now.

[00:17:17]>> Well, I know what you just put us through. So >> what? Cuz I said you're put us through some call me a >> I didn't call you.

[00:17:26]>> SO YOU DID.

[00:17:27]>> WELL, IT WASN'T ME.

[00:17:28]>> One of y'all call me.

[00:17:32]>> You're done.

[00:17:34]>> Incorrect.

[00:17:37]Yes. What?

[00:17:40]>> I You're not.

[00:17:46]>> You can just have >> Take these handcuffs off me.

[00:17:49]>> Now when when you act right.

[00:17:51]>> Take the handcuffs off.

[00:17:53]>> Act right.

[00:17:54]>> Take the HANDCUFFS OFF NOW.

[00:17:56]>> SHUT UP. YOU'RE GOOD DOING THIS. YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

[00:18:00]>> YOU'RE NOT GOING TO KICK US AND HIT US.

[00:18:02]DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

[00:18:03]>> I JUST KICKED YOU.

[00:18:04]>> You just kicked the door into me, did you not? YEAH, BUT >> YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. SO, STAY DOWN AND SHUT UP.

[00:18:10]>> HEY, EASLEY, just keep her there. We're not going to keep doing this. We'll put leg strength on her and be done with it.

[00:18:20]>> Can you take these handcuffs off?

[00:18:22]>> No.

[00:18:22]>> They're hurting my arm.

[00:18:25]>> Look at all this stupid you're doing.

[00:18:26]You want me to help you right now?

[00:18:28]>> Please take the handcuffs off. I can't breathe.

[00:18:34]>> You can't breathe?

[00:18:35]>> No, I can't. That's weird. You're talking about my arms, please.

[00:19:03]>> When you calm down and act I don't want any of my guys getting hurt.

[00:19:11]>> Well, let's chill out for a little bit and show me that you're going to stay calm and then we'll start working on that.

[00:19:16]>> I need my >> Where's it at?

[00:19:19]>> It's in my to make that deal with her first.

[00:19:34]>> Yeah. Asthma. Lean.

[00:19:37]Huh? Is that what you got or you got COPD?

[00:19:42]Lean, >> which one do you have? COPD or asthma or both?

[00:19:46]>> I have asthma. Panic attacks.

[00:19:49]>> Asthma.

[00:19:51]>> And panic attacks.

[00:19:53]That's a bad combination when taking Albuterol, having panic attacks. Here's what I'm going to do. You going to chill out if I pull those handcuffs off?

[00:20:00]>> Yeah.

[00:20:01]>> All right. And now I'm going to give you your inheritance so you can do what you got to do. Can you stand up for me?

[00:20:08]>> You can't turn that way for me so I can get whichever way so I can get to your cuffs. All right. You got to relax though. Let go.

[00:20:18]>> Well, if you don't relax, you're going to make your breathing way worse. You know that, right?

[00:20:24]>> Right.

[00:20:26]>> Deep breath and hold it.

[00:20:28]>> Yes, you can.

[00:20:31]I know you can >> please >> relax.

[00:20:43]>> Huh?

[00:20:44]>> I didn't.

[00:20:46]>> You just what?

[00:20:47]>> I just >> Well, we got some paperwork we got to do first.

[00:20:51]>> Cuz you hit a whole bunch of people tonight.

[00:20:54]>> Do you need both or just the albuterol?

[00:20:56]>> I don't.

[00:20:58]>> Huh? Here.

[00:21:04]>> Do you need both of them or just bolt?

[00:21:07]>> It's right here, babe.

[00:21:09]>> Do you need me to hit it for you?

[00:21:10]>> No.

[00:21:11]>> Okay.

[00:21:11]>> There's the one.

[00:21:13]>> That's aluterol.

[00:21:15]>> Okay.

[00:21:15]>> And this is Simba.

[00:21:16]>> Okay. I >> This should be like you take once or twice a day.

[00:21:25]>> Simba.

[00:21:27]>> Die.

[00:21:28]>> You're dying.

[00:21:34]It's your inhaler. You said you can't breathe.

[00:21:40]>> Well, it ain't going to get better until you do it, right?

[00:21:49]>> Are you hot?

[00:21:51]>> No.

[00:21:51]>> No.

[00:21:56]Well, either way, I got you out of handcuffs, so you got to take your coat off. Okay.

[00:21:59]>> Okay.

[00:22:00]>> Hit your inhaler first though. Get some Get some relief there.

[00:22:03]>> There you go.

[00:22:06]>> How many you supposed to do? Two or one?

[00:22:10]Two? Three.

[00:22:13]Four. That's a lot.

[00:22:20]Here we go. Slow your breathing down.

[00:22:27]better.

[00:22:29]Leon, I got a serious question for you, babe. I'm not judging, but how much have you had to drink tonight?

[00:22:34]>> A little bit.

[00:22:35]>> A lot.

[00:22:36]>> A little bit.

[00:22:38]>> Sergeant HL questions Miss Harding about how much alcohol she consumed. As the Supreme Court established in the 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona. Before initiating so-called custodial interrogation, law enforcement must advise a suspect of their so-called Miranda right, the fifth amendment right against self-inccrimination and the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel. There is no question that Miss Harding was in custody. At this point, she had been placed under arrest, transported to the police station in handcuffs, and was seated in a holding cell. Where the analysis becomes less straightforward is whether Sergeant Hinkle's questioning constituted so-called interrogation, which the Supreme Court defined in the 1980 case of Rhode Island v. Inis as any words or actions on the part of the police that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. Critically, the court defined so-called incriminating response broadly to mean any response, whether in culpatory or exculpatory, that the prosecution may seek to introduce a trial. In defining the term broadly, the court recognized that the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-inccrimination does not draw a line between statements that directly establish guilt and those that incrementally undermine a suspect's position, and that answers a suspect believes will help their case can just as easily be turned against them at trial to expose inconsistencies or imply guilt. Well, under that standard, Sergeant Hingle's question about Miss Harding's alcohol consumption that evening falls squarely within the definition of interrogation. A prosecutor could use her answers to establish her state at the time of the incident, to challenge her credibility, or to undermine any account she might later offer in her defense. Accordingly, a court evaluating the exchange between Sergeant Hinkle and Miss Harding would likely find that custodial interrogation was underway, and that Miranda warnings were required to have been given within a reasonable time before that questioning began.

[00:24:29]>> You know, you've never been like this towards me, so I'm I don't understand that. I can smell alcohol. That's why I'm asking.

[00:24:36]>> I know. I have a I have a broken knee and I just I was just trying to go home and I don't know what happened.

[00:24:42]>> We found you passed out in a ditch.

[00:24:45]>> I don't know.

[00:24:47]>> Where were you coming from?

[00:24:49]>> Robert, my boyfriend.

[00:24:51]>> Okay.

[00:24:52]>> He went home. And >> who you who are you seeing now?

[00:24:56]>> I'm not going to tell you that.

[00:24:57]>> Okay.

[00:24:58]>> Cuz I don't want him to be in trouble.

[00:24:59]But >> Well, I never said he was going to be in trouble. We're just trying to figure out if something happened or if you just passed out or >> He left. He left and went home. We had an argument. He went home and I was just going to go home and I don't even I don't know what happened after.

[00:25:18]>> Did he hit you or something?

[00:25:19]>> No, he didn't touch me. Like we just had an argument and I went home and I I don't I don't chill out. You were just calm. I don't I don't even know like >> just chill.

[00:25:36]>> I don't even think I had that much to drink.

[00:25:39]>> Okay. Well, I've never seen you like this towards you.

[00:25:42]>> I DON'T EVEN KNOW.

[00:25:43]>> I'VE SEEN YOU WORKED up before, but I've never seen you like this.

[00:25:47]>> Right. So, that's why I'm asking.

[00:25:49]>> I think the last time this happened, you were at my ex's house when he put his hands on me.

[00:25:59]which was where at >> I was just trying to go home because my boyfriend went home and then I was just trying to walk home and >> so you were by yourself >> happened. You were by yourself?

[00:26:08]>> Yeah, I was just kind of trying to walk home and I just fell there and I don't >> Where's home at now?

[00:26:16]>> I don't know what you were doing in the 400 block of North Cherry unless you came across >> walking home like my boyfriend lives on College Street. I was walking around and I was going to go home. I just walked around so I could go home. That's all I did.

[00:26:29]>> Okay.

[00:26:29]>> I walked with him to his uncle's house on college and then I walked around onto Cherry Street and then I was just going to go home and I guess I just fell and passed out. I I don't know what happened.

[00:26:40]>> That's That's why I was asking how much you drank if it was enough to cause you to pass out and drink or >> I don't know. I I had quite a bit. I'll tell you that. I'm I'm >> I would agree that's probably what's doing it, but Go ahead and peel your jacket off for me. Since I got you out of handcuffs, I can't leave your jacket on you. Okay.

[00:27:08]Here.

[00:27:11]So, >> you're with boyfriend drinking.

[00:27:16]You did you stop by his house when you left or just kind of >> I walked him home.

[00:27:19]>> Walked him home and then you were walking home by yourself. I was going to walk home myself and then I guess I was back now. I don't know.

[00:27:26]>> All right. You got anything else in your pocket, Stan?

[00:27:29]>> My safe. I don't know where my phone is.

[00:27:31]>> It's probably in your bag. We We'll get >> No, I took my phone in my pocket right here.

[00:27:36]>> We probably took it off of you and put it in your >> No, I don't think you did. Can you find it for me?

[00:27:41]>> Yes, that's what I'm going to do. But I got to have that.

[00:27:44]>> Can you hand me your little headband thingy there?

[00:27:47]>> My head.

[00:27:48]>> I can get it. You want me to get it?

[00:27:51]Yeah.

[00:27:51]>> All right.

[00:27:55]>> I Can I have my phone?

[00:27:58]>> Yeah. I'm going to look for it.

[00:28:00]>> I got to figure out where it's at first.

[00:28:02]Kick your shoes off for me.

[00:28:04]>> Why do I take my shoes off?

[00:28:05]>> You can't have your shoes on inside the cell.

[00:28:07]>> There's nothing in my shoes.

[00:28:09]>> Then you're going to have to take the laces out. One of the two.

[00:28:11]>> There's nothing in my shoes. I'm not going to hang myself. I'm not >> understand. But it's our policy that your shoes got to come off. Okay.

[00:28:17]>> I'm stupid.

[00:28:18]>> I never said you were. I'm not going to try to hang myself. You know, I just I don't I'm not >> Leanne, they got TO COME OFF.

[00:28:25]>> WHY? It's just >> because it's our policy.

[00:28:27]>> There's nothing in my shoes.

[00:28:29]>> If you don't want to take your shoes off, you're going to have to take the laces off.

[00:28:32]>> THERE'S NOTHING IN MY GODDAMN SHOE.

[00:28:34]>> OKAY.

[00:28:38]>> Son of a [ __ ] >> There's nothing in my shoe. Why do you want my shoe?

[00:28:42]>> Because they have shoelaces in.

[00:28:44]>> I'm not going to hang myself. I'M NOT I'M NOT THAT STUPID. WELL, >> I just >> There have been plenty of people who said that and we find them hanging in here.

[00:28:51]>> Can I have my phone?

[00:28:52]>> I'm looking for it as soon as I get done talking to you.

[00:28:57]>> Okay.

[00:28:59]Told you I would try to find it. I'll try to find it. All right.

[00:29:03]>> I think it I think it fell out cuz I know I STUCK IT IN MY POCKET.

[00:29:07]>> OKAY. I still >> I stuck it in this pocket right here. I don't know. Like I know you didn't take it cuz it was in this pocket. Well, I'm going to check your coat first to make sure it's not in there.

[00:29:17]>> It's not in my coat. I said it in this pocket in my pocket.

[00:29:21]>> Okay.

[00:29:23]>> Well, I will talk to the guys who are still on scene and find out if it's there or if it's in your bag.

[00:29:43]Give me a second. All right.

[00:29:48]>> Although the arrest report indicated that Miss Harding would be charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer, two counts of aggravated battery to an EMT and a misdemeanor count of resisting, six felony charges were ultimately filed. Three counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer, and three counts of aggravated battery to an EMT. On January 13th, 2026, Miss Harding pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery to a peace officer and one count of aggravated battery to an EMT with the remaining four counts dismissed as the result of a negotiated plea agreement. She was sentenced to 2 years of probation, which included mandatory drug and alcohol treatment, and was ordered to pay a fine. Overall, Officer Easley and Sergeant Hinkle get an F for redirecting a medically vulnerable detainee from hospital transport to a jail cell without any alternative medical arrangement, threatening to deploy pepper spray against a restrained detainee, and engaging in a pattern of force and threatened force throughout the encounter that appeared to aim at achieving submission through intimidation rather than managing a legitimate safety threat. As we discussed earlier in this episode, the due process clause imposes an affirmative duty on police officers to attend to the medical needs of individuals they take into custody.

[00:31:00]Here, EMS had already made a medical determination that Ms. Harding required hospital transport before she was redirected to a patrol vehicle. And nothing in what we saw suggests that determination was revisited or that any alternative care was arranged. Now, in addition to Sergeant Hinkle's repeated and legally questionable threats to deploy pepper spray, Officer Easley resorted to physical force on multiple occasions in a manner that was alarming in its intensity and appeared calculated to compel submission through fear.

[00:31:29]>> You are trying to HIT ME. YOU UNDERSTAND ME? YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TRY AND KICK me >> now. Sit down. STOP NOW.

[00:31:42]>> SIT OUT. YOU'RE GOOD DOING THIS. YOU UNDERSTAND ME? YOU'RE NOT GOING TO KICK US AND HIT US. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

[00:31:49]>> I JUST KICK YOU.

[00:31:50]>> You just kicked the door into me, did you not?

[00:31:53]>> YEAH, BUT >> YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. SO STAY DOWN AND SHUT UP. HEY, EASLEY. JUST >> NOTABLY, Officer Easley's arrest report described these moments in strikingly sanitized terms, writing, quote, I assisted Leanne into my vehicle and secured her. And I entered the holding cell and physically restrained Leanne to prevent any further battery from occurring to myself. From the very first moments of contact, the officers displayed little to no concern for the fact that Ms. Harding was found unconscious in a ditch and was by any observable measure in acute medical distress throughout. This interaction highlights the constitutional risks of treating a medical call as a law enforcement problem and the abuses that can occur when an officer's desire to exert control over a citizen overrides their duty to care for them. Now, as for Miss Harding, I cannot rightly assign a grade to an individual whose apparent intoxication and altered mental state throughout this encounter make it impossible to evaluate her conduct against the standard that we would ordinarily apply. That said, her behavior warrants discussion. Miss Harding was found unconscious in a ditch, and the evidence strongly suggests that she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol before this encounter began. Although the officer's actions raised serious constitutional concerns, Miss Harding's conduct, including physically striking and biting EMS personnel and continuing to kick and resist officers throughout transport and booking, was a substantial contributing factor to the escalation of this encounter. The degree of intoxication that rendered Miss Harding unconscious in a ditch, combined with her physical combiveness towards officers and EMS personnel, it set the stage for everything that followed. That being said, Miss Harding's conduct does not diminish, excuse, or transfer responsibility for the officer's own choices, and responsibility for the officer's alarming displays and threats of force and fundamental failure of basic human empathy belongs to Officer Easley and Sergeant Hinkle alone.

[00:33:48]Regardless of how this encounter began, let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching and don't forget to check out Audit the Court if you're interested in exploring the legal nuance beyond the body cam.