Ex-Arizona Officer Carri Carrico Pleads Not Guilty After Video Shows Alleged Assault of Woman

Ex-Buckeye police officer Carri Carrico has pleaded not guilty after prosecutors accused her of assaulting a handcuffed, nine-month-pregnant African-American woman whose encounter inside a police booking room was captured on surveillance video. The criminal prosecution now centers on images preserved by the booking-room cameras.

Pregnancy made one of the allegations especially disturbing because authorities say the expectant mother remained restrained throughout the confrontation. Surveillance footage appears to show Carrico shoving the woman into a wall, dragging her toward a bench and striking her while she was carrying her unborn child.

Evidence now extends far beyond conflicting recollections. According to ABC15 Arizona, body camera recordings, surveillance footage and a grand jury indictment followed an internal review that supervisors said documented force they considered excessive, ending with Carrico describing the footage as "really ugly."

Booking procedures quickly gave way to a criminal investigation after what began as a reckless-driving arrest inside Buckeye. Authorities also allege Carrico never documented the alleged strike in her original report, leaving behind an omission that later became part of the internal review.

Injuries described by the woman included scratches, bruising and a contusion later confirmed at a hospital. "She gets me to sit down and she just hits me," the woman told investigators before leaving with a hospital-confirmed contusion.

Pattern became a central issue after reviewers examined another confrontation involving a restrained man months later. She later acknowledged there was "always room for improvement" while maintaining the force reflected habits formed long before arriving in Buckeye, insisting every decision unfolded within rapidly changing circumstances, an explanation she never abandoned.

November now marks the next chapter as both sides prepare to present their arguments before a jury. What ultimately carries the greatest weight may not be competing explanations, but the surveillance footage jurors will watch frame by frame.