Protesters want Kansas City police officer fired after kneeling on pregnant Black woman

Protesters in Kansas City, Missouri, are calling for the firing of a police officer who pressed his knee into the back of a pregnant Black woman during a Sept. 30 arrest that was captured on video.

Protesters also want Kansas City Police chief Rick Smith fired and are calling for the city to redirect 50% of the police department's budget to programs that support the Black community. They've vowed to not leave the demonstration outside city hall until both men, who are white, are fired.

The woman who was arrested, Deja Stallings, 25, is nine months pregnant and faces a misdemeanor charge after hindering the arrest of another person . On Thursday, she appeared at a press conference in front of city hall along with her family, lawyer and activists. She said she's having trouble walking and her back is bruised from the arrest.

"I am a traumatized, pregnant woman," she said. "I am not a threat."

Her lawyer, Stacy Shaw, continued to read on her behalf after Stallings became too emotional to continue: “I cry every day because I am scared for my baby,” she said. “My baby girl has not even been born yet and she is a victim of police brutality."

Shaw said doctors have checked the unborn baby, named Dsyre, and she appears to be healthy.

Bystander footage of Stallings' arrest shows the officer, who has not been identified by police, kneeling on her back as the crowd yells to stop because she is pregnant.

Police released 30 minutes of video footage of the incident Friday, but the moments seen on social media occur off screen. Authorities said a business owner called 911 to report a group of people fighting on his property and Stallings was arrested after she interfered with the arrest of another man.

"The officer attempted to do this while she was standing, but she continued to physically resist arrest, at which point he placed her on the ground to effect the arrest," police said in a statement. "Then she was handcuffed, turned to her side and immediately placed in a seated position ... The officer who arrested the woman stated he took care not to apply pressure with his legs."

Police said ambulances arrived within one minute and took Stallings to a hospital where she was released. She was issued a municipal summons.

Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters-Baker is reviewing the arrest and has asked the police department to investigate it, a spokesperson told USA TODAY on Friday.

Police said in a statement to USA TODAY Friday they are cooperating with the prosecutor's investigation and that the officer involved remain on duty.

Spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina said the department is reviewing the incident internally to see if there were any policy violations or procedural issues but is not investigating to determine if there was a criminal offense.

Civil rights groups have said for months that Smith should resign or be fired because his department is plagued by racism and does not investigate or respond to unnecessary force or fatal shootings of Black people by officers.

Smith has said repeatedly that he does not intend to resign but otherwise has made no statement since the arrest.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has also been criticized by protesters, said it's not possible to reduce the police budget by 50%.

Shaw, Stallings' attorney, said protesters will continue their occupation "until our demands are met or we are forcibly and violently removed from the property."

“And if we are violently removed, we’ll be back the next day,” she said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deja Stallings video: Protesters want Kansas City police officer fired