Woman's arrest by New Castle County officers captured on social media under investigation

New Castle County police are investigating an incident in which four county officers are captured on video forcefully arresting a woman in a Route 40 Royal Farms parking lot, according to New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer.

Meyer's statement, posted to New Castle County Government's Facebook page, also promised to release police body-worn camera footage of the Saturday incident.

"We are aware of the recent video recording circulating on social media regarding a New Castle County Police use of force in a parking lot on Route 40," Meyer said in his statement posted on Facebook on Monday afternoon.

The video, which has been circulating on social media and was provided to Delaware Online/The News Journal by the woman's attorney, Emeka Igwe, starts with three officers detaining a woman who has her back pinned up against an SUV.

As police struggle to arrest her, an officer is seen pulling her hair as the woman pulls away, almost going down on her right knee.

After the woman is brought down to the ground, the officer who had been pulling her hair is seen striking her. A fourth officer is seen running toward the group. When this officer arrives, he also is seen on the video repeatedly striking the woman in the head area.

The video ends shortly after that.

The video posted on social media does not explain why police were arresting her, but charging documents obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal indicate the incident originally began as a traffic violation, including improperly tinted windows and following another vehicle too closely. This then escalated to include two counts of offensive touching of a police officer and resisting arrest.

"Police have an obligation to serve and protect communities in a manner that first preserves the health and safety of all residents. And we have an obligation to do so equally across all communities in our county," Meyer's comment states, adding the body-worn camera footage will be released to the public "imminently."

County police Col. Joseph S. Bloch has ordered the incident be investigated by New Castle County Police's Professional Standards and Use of Force units, the statement said.

"In addition, in collaboration with the New Castle County Police Accountability Board, we will be conducting a review of all policies, training and practices with regard to de-escalation and cultural competency," Meyer said.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Castle County police forceful arrest of woman under review