Story highlights Mary O'Callaghan was tried on one count of assault under the color of authority

Alesia Thomas lost consciousness in a patrol car, was declared dead at hospital

(CNN) A Los Angeles police officer has been convicted by a jury of assaulting an arrested woman who later died, according to a statement issued Friday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Mary O'Callaghan, 50, was tried on one count of assault under the color of authority. She will be sentenced July 23 and could face three years in prison.

O'Callaghan was accused of assaulting Alesia Thomas who, while under under arrest, lost consciousness in a patrol car. She was later declared dead.

Earlier, Thomas had dropped off her two children at a police station because she felt her drug abuse had made her an unfit parent, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

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