No Charges for Seattle Cop Who Broke Woman's Bone

County prosecutors won't charge a Seattle police officer after he punched and seriously hurt a handcuffed woman he says was kicking him. Now federal prosecutors plan to review the incident in a possible civil rights case, the Seattle Times reports. Miyekko Durden-Bosley, 23, was arrested on June 22 after she allegedly threatened a relative. She was drunk and verbally abused Officer Adley Shepherd, trying to kick him as he pushed her into a police car, investigators say. His punch fractured the orbit of her left eye, the Times reports, while official documents say Shepherd himself suffered "no obvious injury." A fellow officer, however, said he was dazed and had trouble talking, Reuters reports.

A video of the incident hasn't been released to the public; the Times says it's not clear whether the kicks landed. But city attorney Pete Holmes said the case against Shepherd "undoubtedly met the felony standard." His office lacks jurisdiction in felony cases, so he handed the matter to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Satterberg's office found that Shepherd "reacted instantaneously to the kick by the suspect, who was wearing boots," and his decision not to prosecute "reflects a deep difference of opinion" with Holmes, notes the Times. If the feds do bring charges, the Times notes that such cases are exceedingly rare and hard to prove. The case comes amid national protests over police use of force in racially charged cases; both Durden-Bosley and Shepherd are black, Reuters notes. (More police stories.)