LYNN, MASS. (WHDH) - The Lynn Police Department says a use-of-force investigation is underway after a police officer was caught on camera repeatedly punching a woman in the face after she allegedly attacked and bit officers during an arrest.
In the video, two officers can be seen arresting 39-year-old Jessica Wagle at a rooming house after she refused to leave one of the rooms. Police say the video was taken out of context and only captured the final moments of a much longer interaction during which she allegedly kicked and bit them. One officer said she reached for his weapon.
The video also showed the officers using pepper spray to subdue Wagle, who has a lengthy criminal record, and is now facing charges of assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
A department spokesman says the incident was captured on body camera and that the video shows Wagle grab, kick, and bite the officers while they try to place her under arrest.
The department has released the body camera video:
In a statement, Mayor Jared Nicholson said, “We take these incidents very seriously and the Lynn Police Department is conducting a thorough use-of-force investigation, as protocol requires. We are committed to providing full transparency in this investigation.”
A woman who witnessed the incident said it was shocking.
“People that live here are citizens, we are civilians, we are not cockroaches in the street where people can just terrorize us and abuse us,” she said.
Wagle is slated to be arraigned in Lynn District Court on Thursday.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)