TEXAS — New bystander video shows the moment an Austin police officer punched a woman several times in the head as two officers restrained her on the ground.

Austin police said in an arrest affidavit that she refused to get up from the ground at an Austin shopping mall, in addition to scratching one of the officers.

According to the affidavit, 26-year-old Simone Nicole Griffith was seen camping and sleeping on the side of the Carousel Pediatrics-Springdale building in the area of 7112 Ed Bluestein Boulevard on October 30 at around 5:15pm.

Austin Police reports a criminal trespass notice was issued by a security guard for the complex, but Griffith still refused to leave.

Responding officers say Griffith refused to get up and was aggressively cursing “Shut the f### up, I ain’t doing nothing. I know the m###########g law b####!”.

When officers told Griffith she was under arrest, she said, “No I am not. I don’t have to get up for you. You are not the law b####,” police said.

When officers tried to place her in handcuffs, she pulled her hands away and hit an officer in the face, scratching him, according to police.

“[We] proceeded to tell [Griffith] not to resist but she kept fighting back,” the affidavit read.

At that moment, one of the officers can be seen punching Griffith at least five times in the head and upper body.

The affidavit claims officers “ultimately had to use force to apprehend her even though Nicole was already notified that she was under arrest.”

Police said the officer injured in the scuffle suffered a 1/2 inch bloody laceration to the left side of his cheek as well as kicking to his torso and hip area.

Griffith was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest and criminal trespassing.

This is not Griffith’s first run-in with the law, according to police. She’s been arrested several times in the past and has been charged with resisting arrest in another Texas city.

Griffith has since filed a lawsuit against the city of Austin, where her attorney Rebecca Webber claims Griffith is “profoundly mentally ill” — and was camping on the sidewalk of the strip mall because she did not have a safe or permanent place to live at the time.

A use of force investigation is underway.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene inside the store crowded with holiday shoppers

Activists were asking if there was a way for officers to de-escalate without opening fire, while the LAPD released shocking video that showed the suspect beating a woman before officers shot him. 

“We at the LAPD would like to express our most heartfelt condolences and profound regret for this innocent victim, Valentina Orianna Peralta,” the LAPD said in the newly released video. “There are no words to describe the depth of the sorrow we feel for this tragic outcome.”

LAPD police chief Michel Moore expedited the release of the footage, saying he wants the public to get a full accounting of what happened.

Community activists have been anxiously awaiting the footage, demanding answers about whether the officer followed proper protocol. The concern was echoed by others who showed up to place flowers at a memorial outside the store.

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man was arrested early Sunday after destroying merchandise inside a 7-Eleven in Palm City and trying to set the store on fire, authorities said.

Shortly before 11:45pm Saturday, San Diego police received a call of a potential arson in progress at the 7-Eleven on Palm Avenue near Hollister Street, according to police Sgt. Dave Yu.

Police said it all started when a man, a regular customer of the establishment, started harassing a female customer inside of the store while trying to buy a beer.

After an employee told the man to leave the premises, police said the suspect started harassing other customers. When the employee asked him to leave yet again, the man went on a violent rampage by starting several fires inside the store and destroying merchandise, according to police.

When officers arrived along with firefighters, they found the 7-Eleven filled with smoke and the suspect breaking items inside.

Authorities told the man to surrender, but he did not comply with their commands and was uncooperative, Yu said.

Officials then deployed a K9 that took the suspect down and officers moved in and made the arrest.

The man was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries and dog bites. His condition is unclear at this time.

The cost of the damage is believed to be in the thousands, according to the San Diego Police Department.