A female Arizona State University senior allegedly punched a police officer and interfered in an arrest over the summer — after which police used force against her and criminally charged her.
Eryn Bonner was criminally charged in connection with a violent July arrest on Mill Avenue in Tempe, KNXV-TV reported.
‘The female is actually striking the police officer with her fists and her legs. That fits that definition of aggravated assault.’
A Tempe spokesperson confirmed to KNXV that Bonner faces two misdemeanor charges in Tempe City Court: disorderly conduct under state law and interfering with police under city code.
The city previously told KNXV that Bonner punched a police officer several times, and the station added that video of the incident appears to show that moment in question, with the officer sitting over Bonner before striking her.
The Tempe Officers Association shared the following statement supporting the charging decision and standing by officers’ actions, the station said:
The filing of charges against Ms. Bonner aligns with what the complete video evidence has shown from the beginning: This incident was far different from the brief clip circulated on social media and her attorney’s repeated misstatements about the facts of the case.
The video shows Ms. Bonner repeatedly ignoring officers’ commands to step back while they were attempting to control an active arrest. TOA remains confident that the officers acted appropriately under difficult circumstances. The relevant video has been released. The case remains under internal review and, when that is complete, the full facts and analysis will be available for public review. We see no basis for a third-party investigation.
KNXV said the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to pursue felony charges and that an initial misdemeanor charge was filed and later dismissed before Tempe refiled the case with additional misdemeanor charges.
A city spokesperson previously said the original charge was dropped to allow prosecutors to refile it alongside additional charges after reviewing all available evidence, the station said.
Josh Logan — a former Chandler police officer and founder of Guardian Training and Consulting who has worked shifts on Mill Avenue — told KNXV in a previous story that his review of the video shows Bonner re-approaching officers after they told her to get back and that she did more than that.
“The female is actually striking the police officer with her fists and her legs,” Logan added to the station. “That fits that definition of aggravated assault.”
Logan also told KNXV that if the officer’s account of Bonner striking the officer multiple times is true, the force used against Bonner is justified in most police department’s policies: “If you reach that level of active aggression, you’re within policy to perform closed fist strikes to the face.”
The station said Bonner — a member of the ASU stunt team — was left with bruises for days following the incident.
Her attorney, Benjamin Taylor, told KNXV that the officer who took Bonner to the ground should be fired, calling his actions “very excessive” and accusing the city of targeting his client: “This is the way to try to cover up the officer’s wrongdoing. Two months later to pursue these charges seems very vindictive.”
Taylor added to the station that civil action typically cannot be filed when someone is convicted of a crime: “Usually, when cities bring charges months later, [they’re] trying to cover up for their civil liability.”
A Tempe Police Department spokesperson told KNXV that an internal review of the incident is still ongoing.
Taylor also repeatedly has called for an external review of the arrest, saying the sergeant overseeing Tempe’s investigation was previously suspended in a use-of-force case, the station said.
However, the city’s police union has pushed back, calling the move an attack on the investigation’s integrity, KNXV added.
Taylor said Bonner has pleaded not guilty, the station said, adding that a pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 4 in Tempe City Court.
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College student, Criminal charges, Physical attack, Punching cop, Arizona state university, Arrest, Interfering with police, Tempe, Crime
