Protest planned in Connecticut over teen's violent arrest

By Richard Weizel NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Reuters) - A protest was being planned for later on Monday outside the New Haven, Connecticut, police headquarters following the release of a video that showed a black teenaged girl being thrown to the ground by a white police officer. The March 15 incident was the latest in a string of contentious and sometimes deadly exchanges between white police officers and members of black communities across the United States. The 15-year-old girl, Teanadrea Cornelius, was treated for a concussion, black eyes and a fractured shoulder following her arrest during the city's St. Patrick's Day parade, her mother, Valerie Boyd, has told local media. A video of the arrest taken by a bystander surfaced on the Internet on Monday. It depicts a white police officer throwing the handcuffed girl down and slamming her head to the pavement after police responded to a call about a fight between two teenagers. The New Haven chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it was playing a role in organizing a planned march from the teen's home to police headquarters beginning at around 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). "The NAACP, the family and community are all very concerned and want answers," said Dori Dumas, president of the New Haven chapter of the NAACP. "We need accountability by police. That's what this protest is all about." The United States has been rocked by weeks of sometimes violent protests over the past year after white police officers killed unarmed black men while attempting to arrest them for petty crimes. In at least two cases, grand juries declined to bring charges against the officers, further inflaming long-simmering racial tensions. Cornelius was arrested and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, a knife, third-degree assault, breach of peace and interfering with an officer. Police released her on a promise to appear in court. The officer has not been identified, and city officials said the incident is being reviewed. "A video recording of an afternoon arrest of a juvenile, made on 15 March, 2015, was brought to the attention of the New Haven Assistant Chief Alfonzo Vazquez, and the Office of Internal Affairs," according to a statement by the New Haven Police Department. (Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis)