A video posted to social media shows a 17-year-old girl being flipped to the pavement by a San Bernardino police officer.
San Bernardino Police arrested the girl on Wednesday, May 21 outside of a grocery store on the 500 block of West 2nd Street in San Bernardino. According to a police statement, the girl was arrested on suspicion of “trespassing and attempting to fight others.”
Video from the scene posted on social media shows an officer pushing the girl downward into the pavement of the parking lot.
“The officer was only able to place one of her hands in cuffs when she began actively pulling away and attempting to walk off from the officer when a takedown maneuver was used,” police said in a statement.
The girl was identified during a Sunday news conference as Erin.
Her family called for bodycam footage to be released and for an independent investigation to be done by California’s attorney general.
In the video of the arrest, when the person recording the video asks one of the officers for his badge number, the officer can be seen pulling out a baton and telling the person to back up.
During Sunday’s news conference, Erin, her parents, her grandmother and a local activist spoke about the arrest, use of force and her injuries.
“I’m hurt everywhere, my head, my whole body – I’m not the same person I was,” Erin said during the news conference, which was shown on stations including ABC7.
Her injuries, a cut on her chin her mother says required stitches, and a scrape on the side of her face, can be seen as she speaks. Her wrist was dislocated and she passed out for a period of time, her family said during the news conference. The police statement confirmed that she was transported to a hospital for a medical evaluation and that she “sustained a laceration to her chin, scrape to her cheek and complained of pain.”
Her family told broadcasters that she was with a group at the grocery store when another group of teens jumped on them.
“She was the only one detained,” her grandmother, Rhonda Taylor, said.
San Bernardino Police say the use of force is currently under review, first by a supervisor and then in an “administrative review process,” which is department policy for use of force.
