When police tried to arrest Paula Natalia Peri-Cohen at Key Colony for allegedly striking a child protective services worker conducting a follow-up investigation, officers said she did not go quietly.
“She started to flay her body in an attempt to not allow us to handcuff her,” Key Biscayne Police Officer Marcos Diaz wrote in a report on Oct. 23.
The defendant, according to the report, then kicked Diaz in the thigh. Once Peri-Cohen was redirected to the ground and put in handcuffs, she was accused of kicking another officer – Sgt. Anais Paez – in the thigh twice while walking to the patrol car, according to police. “Thankfully, no injuries were sustained,” Paez wrote in her report.
Peri-Cohen, when contacted on Thursday, said it was a misunderstanding and denied the allegations.
The DCF worker, whose name was withheld, arrived at Key Colony’s OceanSound condominium to follow-up, according to the report. The DCF worker told police that Peri-Cohen started yelling obscenities at her and then kicked her, causing her pain. A condo front desk employee observed the incident.
After the arrest, the DCF worker told police she needed to visit the home of the child’s grandmother for the placement of the child.
Peri-Cohen, 32, was charged with misdemeanor attempted battery and two felony counts of resisting arrest with violence. She was released from custody on a $11,000 bond, court records show. She is due back in court on Nov. 22.
JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.