FILE - In this July 1, 2014 image made from video provided by motorist David Diaz, a California Highway Patrol officer straddles a woman while punching her in the head on the shoulder of a Los Angeles freeway.
A woman seen in a video being pummelled by a California Highway Patrol officer alongside a Los Angeles freeway filed a civil rights lawsuit on Thursday.
The lawsuit attorney Caree Harper filed in federal court on behalf of Marlene Pinnock names the commissioner of the CHP, the unidentified officer in the July 1 video and other officers as defendants.
The now-viral video recorded by a passing driver shows Pinnock, 51, being repeatedly punched as she's straddled by the officer.
The lawsuit claims excessive force, assault, battery and a violation of Pinnock's due process rights. It states that Pinnock "suffered great mental and physical pain, suffering, anguish, fright, nervousness, anxiety, grief shock, humiliation, indignity, and embarrassment" and seeks monetary damages to be determined at trial.
CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow told The Associated Press that he had not yet seen the lawsuit and the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation. He has met with community and civil rights leaders in Los Angeles multiple times since the incident and has pledged that the agency's internal investigation will conclude in weeks rather than the usual months.
"We do have a good history at taking a look at our processes, procedures and conduct of our employees," Farrow said. "That's never been questioned until today."
The CHP has said the woman was walking on a highway in downtown Los Angeles, endangering herself and people in traffic, and the officer was trying to restrain her. The woman had begun walking off the freeway but returned when the confrontation occurred.
Harper said Pinnock remains hospitalised with head injuries. The officer, who had been on the job for 1 1/2 years, hasn't been identified and is on desk duty pending completion of the internal investigation.
Earlier this week, CHP investigators seized Pinnock's medical records and the clothing she was wearing during the incident. Chris Arevalo, executive administrator for psychiatric services at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, confirmed that the CHP served a search warrant on Tuesday.
Harper, who was notified of the seizure by Arevalo on Wednesday, said she was told the search warrant was for "property or things that are evidence that tend to show that a felony has been committed or tends to show that a particular person has committed a felony."
Harper said the CHP took files that included statements to Pinnock's doctor about how she was feeling and references to her attorney. She said she was outraged by the violation of doctor-patient privacy and attorney-client privilege.
Farrow couldn't confirm the search warrant Wednesday but told the AP, "I don't think the CHP is trying to put her on trial or make it an issue about her. What I'm looking at is entirely about the circumstances, we all saw what happened. Our job is to find out the why and the how."