What justifies use of force by police; retired deputy chief and US Marshall explains

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A use of force incident involving a woman’s arrest is drawing attention after a viral video showed an officer punching her during the encounter.

Robert Almonte, a retired deputy chief with the El Paso Police Department and former U.S. marshal for the Western District of Texas, said the situation could have been avoided if the woman had not resisted officers.

According to court documents obtained by ABC-7, officers attempted to arrest Kelcee Hufford, who had an active warrant at the time.

Hufford declined to comment when contacted, saying she would not speak to the media and referred questions to her attorney. Her attorney has not responded to requests for comment.

Court records said Hufford refused to comply with officers’ commands during the arrest.

Almonte said officers are trained to use force when a suspect resists. He added, the goal during an arrest is to stop resistance as quickly as possible.

In this case, Almonte said he believes the officer showed restraint.

"She was pulling away from the handcuffs. They even tried to tase her, but that didn't work for whatever reason. I mean, they gave her plenty of opportunity, so she is the one who escalated this situation. And when you're making an arrest and someone resists, the officer's goal is to stop the resistance as soon as possible by using the necessary force," said Almonte.