LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles Police Department officer has pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault for allegedly repeatedly kicking a handcuffed woman who later died.
Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison says Officer Mary O'Callaghan pleaded not guilty to felony assault under color of authority at her Tuesday arraignment.
Robison says Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba put a protective order on a videotape of the incident, which was recorded on a police cruiser's camera.
The 48-year-old O'Callaghan remains free on her own recognizance and is scheduled to return to court Dec. 5 for a procedural hearing.
Thirty-five-year-old Alesia Thomas died July 22, 2012, following a struggle with officers who went to her home after she left her two children outside a police station at 2 a.m.
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