Georgia police officer investigated for kicking pregnant woman

Georgia policeman Jerad Wheeler has been denounced for allegedly kicking a pregnant woman. It was two weeks later, when doctors found that her unborn baby had defecated in utero, that she was rushed to a local hospital for an emergency Caesarean section to deliver her endangered baby. According to the mother of the baby, Raven Dozier, DeKalb County Officer Wheeler had come to her house in January 2012 on a domestic disturbance call. She said that Wheeler used a Taser stun-gun to settle down Dozier’s brother who had been in a dispute with Dozier’s mother.

When Raven Dozier screamed, Wheeler then kicked the her in the abdomen and also charged her with obstructing him in the line of duty. "I think he really just didn't want me asking him any questions, questioning him, and when I did question him is when he kicked me," Dozier told WSBC-TV. Dozier was in her ninth month of pregnancy at the time. Baby boy Levi was born later after emergency surgery. She is now suing Wheeler over his ‘brutal’ use of force. According to WSBTV, Dozier said in an interview “I couldn’t believe an officer would kick me, with my child in my stomach.” She claims that she had tried to calm her brother down before the officer kicked her.

According to the official report of the incident filed by Wheeler, he did indeed apply a “front push-kick to the abdomen,” while claiming that he could not see that Dozier was pregnant because of the darkness at the scene and her loose clothing. Wheeler reportedly wrote that he used an officially sanctioned move as he was “taught to do at the academy.” Attorney Mark Bullman, Dozier’s attorney, asked “What kind of human being kicks a pregnant woman? I mean, forget whether or not it is a police officer that is supposedly protecting people.”

Wheeler carted Dozier off to a jail, but guards at the facility refused to take her, having observed her obviously gravid state.  Dozier filed a complaint with police, but claims there was no follow-up.  His supervisors concurred with his version of events. However, a criminal investigation is now underway to uncover the truth in the matter.