Video shows San Antonio cop apparently punching teen girl in face

SAN ANTONIO -- The mother of a 14-year-old girl seen on video apparently bring punched by a San Antonio police officer is speaking out, reports the CBS affiliate there, KENS-TV.

The incident began on Saturday night when, police say, they were called to a separate event on the same block as a quinceañera celebration.

According to a police report obtained by KENS, when officers arrived, several party attendees, including juveniles, had been involved in fights and were still being aggressive with one another.

It's not clear exactly what led up to the events in the video, but the police report says the girl assaulted an officer and she was arrested at the scene.

"As a mother, to sit there and be helpless and you can't help your child, that's the worst feeling in the world," the girl's mother April Johnson told reporters Wednesday. "I don't want this to happen to anybody else's child, [for] anybody else to feel what I'm feeling right now. Nobody should have to go through that."

Johnson says her daughter was held in a detention center overnight and is being charged with assaulting an officer.

She says her daughter was simply trying to be a peacemaker during the incident.

The police report says the teen wasn't hurt during the scuffle, but Johnson says her daughter is still in pain.

"If you can't handle your job, don't do it. If you have that much aggression, maybe you should have called in that day because there's no point, the way you hit a 14-year-old child," Johnson said. "You hit this child in front of everyone and you exposed this child in front of everyone. You need to be taken off the streets."

An attorney for the family is calling for the officer be terminated.

"What I do know and what we see on the video is that this officer made physical and violent contact with the face of this 14-year-old," said Tess House. "We want the SAPD Officer's Association to be honest and critical of when their officers should not serve in that capacity anymore."

SAPD Chief William McManus released the following statement:

Per SAPD policy, the events leading up to the arrest of the juvenile for assaulting a public official is being investigated to ensure compliance with Department policies.

Mayor Ivy Taylor also commented on the video:

The video made public showing a scuffle between police officers and a girl is hard to watch and to listen to. SAPD is now reviewing body cam video to determine ...exactly what happened and Chief McManus is keeping me updated on the ongoing investigation. When I supported funding for body cameras it was for instances like this so that we can see exactly what happened and protect officers and citizens.

An online petition has been launched by a local activist group seeking justice for the young girl.

There was no word as of Wednesday night on any action by San Antonio police involving the officer.