She Allegedly Went on a
Simple Jog in Her Toe Shoes. So Why Did She End Up Screaming and in
Handcuffs? ‘I Didn’t F**king Do Anything Wrong!’
It allegedly started with her jogging in her toe shoes and sporting
headphones. It ended in video of her screaming and being led away in
handcuffs. What happened in between is a matter of debate, but video
showing parts of the incident is certainly gaining traction online.
“I was doing nothing wrong,” she said at first to a nearby witness
while sitting on the sidewalk with her hands behind her and one officer
standing over her. “I was just crossing the street.”
But as police escorted her away while pedestrians passed by, things got ugly.
Whatever the woman did to get the attention of Austin, Texas police, a
witness’ video of cops detaining her on a city sidewalk Thursday
morning then escorting her to a nearby squad car indicate she was not
happy with their actions.
“I didn’t f**king do anything wrong! I didn’t do anything wrong!” she
yelled before being placed in a nearby squad car. She then began crying
as she pleaded, “I f**king crossed the street.”
The Daily Texan,
the student newspaper for the University of Texas at Austin, reported
that police arrested the woman for failing to provide identification.
Student Chris Quintero, who the Daily Texan reported witnessed the
arrest, said he saw the woman jogging with headphones on when police ran
after her. When the woman failed to stop, the officer grabbed her by
the arm and handcuffed her, Quintero said.
“She repeatedly pleaded with them, saying that she was just
exercising and to let her go,” said Quintero, who also shot the video
and took photographs of the incident.
The woman can be seen in the full video attempting to get up from the sidewalk and being kept down by police officers.
Austin police did not return phone calls from TheBlaze about why the woman was detained.
According to a statement to The Daily Texan from police spokeswoman
Lisa Cortinas: “[In this case], the call is titled failure to identify.”
Sitting at Starbucks, on the corner of 24th and San
Antonio, I noticed a particularly odd situation.Two Austin Police
Officers standing outside the Castilian just lingering. Every time I
looked back there was a different student holding a carbon copy of what
looked to be a jay walking citation. Suddenly one of the cops shouts at
an innocent girl jogging with her headphones on through West Campus. He
wobbled after her and grabbed her by the arm. Startled and not knowing
it was a cop, she jerked her arm away. The cop viewed this as resisting
arrest and proceeded to grab both arms tightly, placing her in
handcuffs. She repeatedly pleaded with them saying that she was just
exercising and to let her go. She repeatedly cried out, “I did not do
anything wrong…just give me the ticket.” The other officer strolled over
and not they where making a scene. She tried to get up. I doubt she was
running away, as she was in handcuffs, but the second cop pushed her
back down to the ground. Because of the commotion, they walked her to
the cop car in the alleyway next to the Big Bite, where she, overcome
with frustration, yelled loudly to gain attention. Because of that, the
cops tightened their grip causing her to squirm and kick. Then came two
bike cops from down the alley. Now we have four cops and one small,
helpless girl in the back of a cop car, because she was just going for a
run.
UPDATE: As TheBlaze pointed out earlier this year, citizens have a variety of rights when it comes to interacting with police, including whether or not you have to show ID, and laws vary from state to state.
According to the infogrpahic in TheBlaze story from January and other sources,
in Texas you only have to show ID once you’ve been arrested, not
before. If you’re lawfully detained in Texas, you do not have to provide
ID. However, you cannot give false information about who you are.
It’s still unclear if the woman in the video was arrested or detained
or if she had ID to show or provided information of any sort to police.
TheBlaze will update this story when police provide the information.