Viral video of cheerleader slammed to ground by police and punched draws national outcry
NBC News · LC · trust 42/100
Ben Crump, who has represented multiple families in civil rights cases, including those of Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, posted a copy of the video on social media and asked, “Did this encounter really warrant this level of force?!” He added that officers “must prioritize restraint and de-escalation whenever possible.”
In a separate posting , Lee Merritt, who represented the family of slain jogger Ahmaud Arbery , included photos of bruises under Bonner’s eyes. He said the ongoing internal review of her arrest should “examine whether Bonner imposed an immediate threat” and “whether force against her was necessary.”
The Maricopa County attorney declined to bring charges against Bonner, 21, over the July 19 confrontation. The city later charged her with disorderly conduct and interfering with/hindering police, both misdemeanors.
A photo provided by Eryn Bonner's attorney Benjamin Taylor appears to show bruising under both her eyes. via Benjamin Taylor Edited videos released by police show Bonner trying to stop bicycle patrol officers from arresting her boyfriend when an officer, telling her to “back up,” shoves her hard enough to send her flying a short distance backward and landing flat on the ground on her buttocks.
She returns and approaches the officer, yelling, “You want to punch a bitch?” In the video, she is tackled and her body falls across one of the bicycles as officers begin to try to restrain her. During the scuffle, a loud smack is heard as the officer who shoved her appears to punch her in the face.
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When they have her cuffed, police move her to a curb and sit her on the ground. She yells at them and says, “You see my f---ing face?” adding later that the officer pushed her down and punched her in her face.
Bonner has filed a sexual assault complaint with the police internal affairs unit, alleging the officer who arrested her groped her buttocks after she was on the ground, contact that was captured on the video released by police .
Bonner’s attorney, Benjamin Taylor, said that the misdemeanor charges were filed after Bonner filed her sexual assault complaint and that he believes the charges are retaliation and are intended to weaken her sexual assault complaint.
“Why are they so vigilant in trying to charge a woman who is 21 years old and an ASU student?” Taylor asked. “Why are you trying to ruin her record for an incident where she was traumatized and trying to help her boyfriend?”
The police department said the incident is still under investigation, and it provided previously released statements and video.
It said that the city prosecutor’s office filed the charges “following careful review of the evidence” and that the decision to file charges was “ not made in response to outside influences or any allegations…
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