Officer Punches Woman After She Spits At Him

Another jail encounter is making headlines in Texas.

This week, video was released from an incident that occurred in February at Jefferson County Jail. It shows a police officer punching an intoxicated, handcuffed woman after she spit in his face.

"I'm going to try to make sure that he has to pay for it," said Lisa Hayes, who was punched by the officer.

Hayes doesn't remember much from the night she was punched by an officer after she spit at him at the jail, but she recalls the injuries.

"Both my shoulders were torn. I had scars on my wrists, my feet, my hips," Hayes said.

Hayes was arrested for public intoxication.

According to a sheriff's office internal report, she spit at Beaumont police officers as they arrested her.

She appeared to be passed out at the jail, but when paramedics asked her to walk, she stood up and began cursing at officer Raymond Sellers, then spit on him. Then he's seen on the video punching her in response.

"I'm not gonna say I don't blame myself because who can't blame their self for being intoxicated and spitting at someone," said Hayes. "But I hold him more responsible because he should've been the one making sure I wasn't hurting me nor anybody else, not the one hurting me."

That same night a report shows an officer used a stun gun on Hayes after six officers tried to remove her clothes and place her in a suicide gown. That report says she wouldn't stop kicking them.

But Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham says his office can't do much without a law enforcement investigation.

"The district attorney's office does not take direct referrals," Wortham said. "We do not have sufficient investigators to take direct referrals to our office. They have to come from a law enforcement agency."

Lisa Hayes says she didn't file a complaint with the sheriff's office earlier because she hardly remembers anything from that night.

"Up until this point I felt just disappointed of myself because I was under the impression I did all this to myself," said Hayes.

But she's now seeking legal representation.

On Thursday, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that officials with the Texas Rangers have opened an investigation.

Contact Us