Dominique Difiore, 20-years-old, has been identified as the young woman who was punched in the face by a Chester police department officer in the now-viral video. The video was recorded during a St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl at Widener University in Pennsylvania.
According to reports, the video — which was recorded in Chester, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 16 — shows DiFiore striking a Chester police officer before he responded by punching her in the face. Additionally, a witness at the scene told CBS Philly that the same officer then tased Difiore’s ear after she was already on the ground.
Following the incident, Difiore was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and alcohol-related offenses. In addition to Difiore, 19-year-old Jaylene Westfall, 21-year-old Shawn Connolly, and 20-year-old Tess Herman were also arrested.
While the officer in the video has not been identified, Chester Police Chief James Nolan IV said that the sergeant is an 18-year law enforcement veteran and that no disciplinary action has been taken against him at this time.
As of Sunday, March 17, Difiore was in jail on a $75,000 bond.
The Chester police department released a statement confirming that the incident is currently under investigation.
“A partial video of the event is circulating on various social media platforms. The incident, the video and the level of force used in connection with the event are all currently under investigation,” the statement read.
The Chester police department also posted an update on Facebook, saying that they “are still conducting investigations to determine if other persons will be charged in relation to the events of the day.”
That is all the information that is available at this time. This article will be updated with new and relevant information should it become available at any time. If there is anything that we missed, please feel free to send an email to editor@teamcoed.com and we will respond as soon as possible.