The hero police sergeant from the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting was filmed on hospital surveillance footage violently dragging a woman to the ground and appearing to stomp on her head two years later.
Sgt. Michael Hawkins was caught on cameras forcibly dragging 23-year-old OyZhana Williams to the ground after she refused to give him the keys to her car at the University of Colorado Hospital on December 22, 2015.
The woman’s boyfriend Blake Newton had just been taken to another hospital by doctors after being shot earlier in the night.
Sgt. Hawkins wanted to seize her car keys in order to examine the vehicle as part of the investigation in to the shooting and became violent when she refused, a lawsuit filed by the woman claims.
She is now suing the department claiming he and two other officers used excessive force.
Hawkins was lauded as a hero after trying to save wounded cinema goers who had been shot by gunman James Holmes at a screening of Batman: The Dark Night Rises on July 20, 2012.
Aurora Police Sgt. Michael Hawkins is seen above with his arms around the neck of 23-year-old OyZhana Williams as he tried to arrest her at the University of Colorado emergency room. She now suing him for excessive force
Sgt. Hawkins (standing) then appeared to kick the woman’s head as she lay on the ground beneath other officers. Her attorneys say he ‘stomped on’ her
He carried a six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan out of the theater and to an ambulance while her pregnant mother lay inside, paralyzed from the waist down. Veronica died in hospital. She was the youngest victim.
On December 22, 2015, Sgt. Hawkins was filmed lunging for 23-year-old Williams as she tried to retreat into his patrol car after refusing to hand over her keys.
He dragged her out of the car and placed his hands around her neck. She retaliated, grabbing him by the head as another officer, Jordan Odnean, tried to intervene.
The pair tussled for a few seconds and then Hawkins tripped her to the ground. Odnean, who had grabbed her from behind, fell on top of her.
Two other officers then ran over to assist the men. As they placed her in handcuffs, Sgt. Hawkins is seen getting to his feet then sharply kicking in the direction of her head.
Williams’ head, which was lying under the other officers, is not visible at this point in the video.
OyZhana Williams, 23, is now suing Sgt. Mike Hawkins and two other Aurora Police Officers for excessive force
Williams (above in pink trousers) had just taken her injured boyfriend to the University of Colorado Hospital emergency room on December 22, 2015, when Hawkins (above left) requested she hand over her car keys so that he could confiscate her vehicle for his investigation. She refused and the pair are seen talking about it at the side of his patrol car
Williams retreated in to the backseat of the patrol car and Hawkins reached in for her to drag her out. He then struggled with her
The men then dragged her to the ground as another officer watched above them
Two other officers then joined in and subdued the woman to handcuff her on the ground. She was taken away in the patrol car shortly afterwards and spent six days in jail for second degree assault before posting bail
After the incident, she was charged with second degree assault. Hawkins claimed she scratched him in the forehead, drawing blood.
He had his claims upheld by Odnean and another officer, Jose Ortiz, who filed a report making the same accusation.
She spent the next six days in jail – missing Christmas with her family and unaware of her boyfriend’s condition – before having her bail reduced to an amount she could pay.
In the ten-and-a-half months that followed, she was turned down for a job because of the pending charges.
Eventually, in 2016, the District Attorney dropped the charges against her.
None of the officers were wearing body cams at the time of the incident which came a month before the Aurora Police Department enforced them as part of its policy.
Williams is now suing the police officers for damages and the footage, which was taken on the emergency room’s cameras, is part of the suit.
Aurora Police Department claims not to have seen the video until this week when Williams filed her lawsuit.
It has now launched an investigation into her allegations but all three of the officers remain on the force. Sgt. Hawkins is in a desk role and the two others are in the field.
‘The Aurora Police Department has recently been made of aware of an excessive use of force allegation against three of our officers,’ a spokesman told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
Hawkins carried six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan out of the Century 16 Movie Theater on July 20, 2012. She was the youngest victim and died shortly after he tried to save her
Hawkins, then a police officer, was one of the first cops to arrive at the movie theater on July 20, 2012, after the gunman opened fire. Above, a trail of blood outside it and next to the gunman James Holmes’s car
Hawkins was lauded as a hero for his efforts during the shooting. He is seen above with his own children at a memorial event for the girl he tried to save that year. Two months before the incident involving the woman at the hospital, he was promoted to Sergeant
‘The incident took place on December 22nd, 2015. The plaintiff did not file a complaint with the APD through the Department’s complaint system.
‘The Department learned of the complaint only after a lawsuit was filed today against the officers. The Sergeant named in the lawsuit is in an administrative assignment and the two officers are both currently on patrol.
Hawkins testified at the trial of the Batman movie screening gunman James Holmes (above). He is now serving life without parole
‘We are taking this allegation seriously. At this time, Chief Metz has directed that the incident be investigated immediately by the Internal Affairs Bureau.’
Sgt. Hawkins was one of dozens of Aurora police officers who responded to the shooting at the Century 16 movie theater on July 20, 2012.
He found six-year-old Veronica lying wounded in the abdomen near her mother and carried her outside to an ambulance.
The girl’s father has publicly thanked him on numerous occasions.
At the gunman’s trial, Hawkins held back tears as he described how Veronica bled ‘all over’ him as he tried to get her to safety.
‘I looked down on her and realized she was probably gone. I laid her on the stretcher and I realized at that point that she had probably died,’ he said.
Twelve people died and 70 were injured as Holmes who was mentally ill and obsessed with Batman.
He is in jail serving life without parole. Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict in favor of the death sentence after his highly publicized trial. Hawkins was promoted to the rank of Sergeant after the 2012 shooting.