Woman claims police brutality against West Covina officers; department releases dashcam video

WEST COVINA, Calif. (KABC) -- Cellphone video showed a struggle between a West Covina police officer and a woman during a traffic stop. Now both sides are pointing fingers.

The woman accused the officer of police brutality during the incident, but authorities said dashcam video conflicts with her story.

Eileen Aquino recorded the video during a traffic stop around 10 a.m. last Thursday. Authorities pulled the vehicle over because it did not have license plates. Aquino's husband was driving the vehicle.

During the stop, authorities learned her husband was on probation for an arson conviction. The husband complied with police orders to exit the vehicle.

When they decided to conduct a search of the vehicle, they then asked Aquino to get out of the car and that's when she started recording.

She said one of the officers became upset when she started recording.

"He just started to try to tackle me for my phone. Eventually he got it, then he yanked me out of the car and cuffed me. We weren't under arrest, but I don't know why he cuffed me. But he cuffed me and while he was cuffing me and I looked to the left and I see the other officer hitting and kicking my husband," she said.

Lt. Travis Tiebetts said it's normally OK to record videos of officers on a cellphone, but he said the officer needed to search Aquino's vehicle and she continued recording without getting out of the vehicle.

While Aquino claims her husband was hit and kicked while being cuffed, dashcam video released by the police department did not appear to show any violence.

The Aquinos said they were released after the traffic stop.

The police department said the entire incident remains under investigation.