Woman arrested after swearing aloud on mobile phone

28/09/2004 - 13:24:02
A pregnant woman was handcuffed by police and forced onto her stomach during an arrest that began with her talking too loudly on her mobile phone.

Sakinah Aaron, 23, said she feared her unborn baby would be harmed when the officer forced her to the ground and put his knee in her back at a bus stop in Washington earlier this month. A doctor later said her five-month-old foetus was not harmed.

“I’m thinking between the ground and his knee, my water is going to break and I’m going to have a miscarriage or something,” she said.

Deputy Transit Police Chief Timothy Gronau said Officer George Saoutis followed police procedure after Aaron refused to stop cursing loudly during a mobile phone conversation and became abusive and uncooperative.

Aaron said the officer approached her as she walked to catch a bus, telling her to keep her voice down. She twice tried to break away, but he caught her arm, then placed her face down, handcuffed her, and charged her with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

She is scheduled to appear in court on October 21.