Texas police officer who hit teenage girl indicted

A grand jury in Texas indicted a San Antonio officer who was recorded on camera hitting a teenage girl during an altercation last year.

Court records filed Tuesday show Officer Gary Tuli was indicted by a grand jury in Bexar County on one count of official oppression and a second count of false report to a peace officer. The teenage girl was arrested after the May 2017 encounter, which took place outside an event center and was captured on video.

The indictment says Tuli knew arresting the teenager was unlawful.

He also made a false statement when he reported the girl “took a bladed stance, balled her fist up and struck me in the face with a closed fist” and called him an expletive, according to the court document.

In a video posted by the San Antonio Express-News , the officer is seen hitting the girl as she is forced backward toward a group of people. Police are then seen trying to control the teenager, who moves out of the video’s frame. The paper reported that the supervisor for Tuli determined the officer had been justified in using force.

In a written statement sent Wednesday, Police Chief William McManus said Tuli will be put on administrative duty. He said an excessive force complaint “was deemed to be inconclusive.”

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)