CHP agrees to settle, officer resigns in beating case

A California Highway Patrol officer caught on video repeatedly punching a woman on the 10 Freeway earlier this year has agreed to resign, the agency said late Wednesday.

The CHP announced that Officer Daniel Andrew was stepping down and that the state law enforcement agency had agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by the woman, Marlene Pinnock, 51.

The settlement will establish a special-needs trust for Pinnock to “provide a mechanism for her long-term care,” according to a statement released by CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

He did not elaborate.

“When this incident occurred, I promised that I would look into it and vowed a swift resolution. Today, we have worked constructively to reach a settlement agreement that is satisfactory to all parties involved,” Farrow said in his statement.

Attorneys for Pinnock and Andrew could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

The settlement comes as Los Angeles prosecutors are deciding whether to charge Andrew with a crime.

Last month, the CHP announced Andrew had been stripped of his duties and could face “potentially serious charges.”

The July 1 altercation generated national attention after a video shot by a passing motorist surfaced.

It shows a uniformed CHP officer pinning the woman to the ground and repeatedly punching her, landing at least nine blows.

There has been some dispute about what prompted the altercation. The CHP has said the officer was trying to keep the woman from walking into traffic. CHP logs state she ignored commands and became “physically combative.”

But Pinnock said in an interview last month that she did nothing to provoke the officer. Pinnock said she was walking to a place to sleep that night when the officer came up behind her. As Pinnock screamed, she said, he “pulled me back and threw me on the ground.”

The officer “just started punching me and socking me and beating me,” Pinnock said. “Blow after blow and blow after blow. He just wouldn’t stop.”

Pinnock was hospitalized after the incident and placed on a mental-health hold.

Andrew joined the CHP as a cadet in April 2012 and was promoted to an officer six months later, officials said.

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