A video surfaced Friday of an altercation between a police officer in Cleveland and a 21-year-old woman in handcuffs. The video appears to show the officer strike the woman in the face with his hand while she's handcuffed and struggling with other arresting officers.

The head of the union that represents the rank-and-file officers in the Cleveland police department took exception with the characterization of the blow as a "punch." He instead referred to the strike on the handcuffed woman as a defensive slap.

The woman was charged with assault on a police officer and appeared in court Saturday.

Cleveland.com broke out several frames of the video to get a closer look at the altercation.

You can also watch the full video in the player above.

The video

By Adam Ferrise

Cleveland.com

Aug. 15, 2016

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A debate over whether a police officer punched, slapped or hit a Cleveland woman in handcuffs raged this weekend after a cellphone video showing the incident garnered widespread attention.

Some thought the still unidentified officer slapped the woman's face, others thought it was a punch. Body camera video could clear up those questions if the officer's camera was recording, however, the city of Cleveland has not released it.

The woman in the video, Ciara Perez-Rodriguez, said she herself is unsure whether she was hit with a closed fist or open hand. Perez-Rodriguez suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, her father, Louis Perez said.

Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Steve Loomis said the officer was pushing Perez-Rodriguez’s face away from other officers to keep her from spitting on them.

Perez-Rodriguez said she did spit on several officers during the incident, which was prompted by her throwing a Pepsi bottle at officers during an arrest sweep in her neighborhood.

Perez-Rodriguez is charged with fourth-degree felony assault on a police officer. Her case was bound over for a Cuyahoga County grand jury to review.

This slideshow shows a frame-by-frame still photos taken from the cellphone video.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

The beginning

Perez-Rodriguez appears to be yelling at officers after they put her in handcuffs. She said she did yell at the officers because she upset by seeing people she knew in her neighborhood being arrested.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

J)

Perez-Rodriguez appears in the video to be spitting at an officer to her left. She also said she spat at officers during her arrest.

The officer draws his arm back.

As the officer who appears to be getting spit on moves back, another officer behind lifts his left arm. His hand appears to balled into a fist.

The officer's arm moves forward and the officer lunges at Perez-Rodriguez with his still hand still balled up in a fist.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

Officer draws arm back

As the officer who appears to be getting spit on moves back, another officer behind lifts his left arm. His hand appears to balled into a fist.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

Officer's arm moves forward

The officer lunges at Perez-Rodriguez with his still hand still apparently balled up in a fist.

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Impact

The video is grainy and taken from the crowd on the side of the street. The point of impact does not clearly show whether or not the officer’s fist is still balled up or if his hand had opened by the time it made impact with the left side of Perez-Rodriguez’s face.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

Follow through

The officer’s arm continues forward after impact. She said in an interview after being released from the city jail that the impact caused mouth to bleed.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

EDuo *'

Perez- Rodriguez head is forced to the right and her head whips around.

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Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com

Knocked to the ground

Perez-Rodriguez then falls to the ground on her right side.