TEMPE, AZ — Tempe has submitted misdemeanor charges against ASU senior Eryn Bonner to Tempe City Court after the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined felony charges in connection with a violent arrest on Mill Avenue last month.
A Tempe Police spokesperson told ABC15 misdemeanor charges of Assault, Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct, and Obstruction were submitted to the Tempe City Court last week.
Police previously told ABC15 on Monday they would not resubmit the felony charges.
Online records indicate an initial misdemeanor charge, submitted prior to these charges, was previously dismissed. A Tempe spokesperson said in a statement: "The City Attorney's Office dismissed the prior charge in order to refile the misdemeanor charge along with any additional appropriate charges after reviewing the complete, available evidence.”
Bonner, a member of the ASU stunt team, was left with bruises for days following the encounter. Her family released a statement reading:
"There are no words to fully describe the heartbreak of watching our daughter being hurt by someone entrusted to protect and serve our community. The hardest thing is seeing the pain and sadness in her eyes that we cannot take away. Expecting public servants to live up to the highest standards of their profession is not an act of animosity toward those who serve with honor. Rather, it is essential to preserving public trust and upholding the integrity and legitimacy of our institutions. We respectfully ask for your prayers and support as our daughter and our family continue to heal."
Attorney Benjamin Taylor, who now represents the Bonners, says the officer involved should be fired.
"This was very extreme, very excessive and there was no need for double pushes, jumping on top and multiple strikes," Taylor said. "The city of Tempe would be very vindictive to try to charge her again after they see what this officer did.”
Josh Logan, a former Chandler police officer, founder of Guardian Training and Consulting, and someone who has worked shifts on Mill Avenue, offered a different perspective. Watching the video, Logan says he sees Bonner re-approaching officers after they told her to get back. Tempe previously told ABC15 the woman punched the officer several times.
"The female is actually striking the police officer with her fists and her legs. That fits that definition of aggravated assault," Logan said.
He went on to say if the officer’s account of Bonner striking the officer multiple times is true, the force 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," Logan said.
Taylor also raised concerns about what he says appears in the video at the end of the encounter.
"If you look at the end of the video, there's some odd touching at the end of the video which is very concerning," Taylor said. "At the end you see her hand go on her buttocks which is very odd in this situation.”
Logan says the allegation about touching at the end of the video lacks context in what he describes as a fast-moving scene in which he sees Bonner on top of a bike.
"There's so many dangerous things on that bicycle that can cut and scrape. I have scars from cogwheels to chains and everything in between. It appears that she's trying to move her off the bike and that happens in a split second in a very chaotic scene, and then they take her into custody and go from there," Logan said.
Logan also described Mill Avenue as a challenging environment for officers. He knows firsthand, working the area on occasion to assist Tempe PD while a member of the Chandler Police Department.
"Mill Avenue is an extremely, in my professional opinion, a very violent place, particularly at night. It's one of the more violent places I've actually worked," Logan said.
Tempe's police chief Kenneth McCoy was asked about the incident in an interview on a separate topic and said it remains under investigation.
"I'm thankful that we have cameras in our community where we were able to capture the whole incident, not just the 30 seconds clip that was seen by most," the chief said. “We investigate everything that took place and so all of the actions and you know the officers who were involved are part of that investigation. We look at our policies and procedures to make sure everything was done correctly.”
Tempe police told ABC15 they could not discuss details on what is still an ongoing case.
ABC15 previously reported that Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell joined Tempe police on Mill Avenue last weekend.
The County Attorney's Office said it was "to show her support and reinforce that her decision to turn down felony charges is not an indictment of the officer's actions.”
Taylor called on the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to broaden its focus.
"The county attorney should look into the victims here, the people, the citizens who are going on Mill Avenue and feel victimized. This is not the first time this has happened, this has happened multiple times and people have multiple complaints," Taylor said.
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