Viral clip showed cop taking down ASU cheerleader — then came the rest of the video

BS BULLETIN:

Video of Arizona State student Eryn Bonner being shoved down and struck by a Tempe police officer triggered accusations of excessive force.
Longer footage shows Bonner repeatedly approaching officers as they arrested two men, despite commands to back away.
Police say Bonner then struck an officer several times; her attorney says officers unnecessarily escalated the encounter.

A viral video showing an Arizona State University cheerleader being knocked to the ground and struck by police generated plenty of outrage.

Then came the rest of the video.

Eryn Kelise Bonner, 21, an ASU senior and member of the school’s Stunt Team, is facing misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police stemming from a July 19 confrontation in downtown Tempe.

The arrest attracted renewed attention after police footage showing the confrontation was released. One portion is unquestionably dramatic. An officer can be seen forcefully taking Bonner down against a police bicycle during the struggle and striking her before officers eventually get her into handcuffs.

But surveillance and body-camera footage provide considerably more context about what happened before that moment.

WATCH: Newly released police video shows an Arizona State cheerleader shoved to the ground and pinned against a police bicycle as officers arrest her during a confrontation in Tempe.

“Let him go! Let him go!” Eryn Bonner screams as officers arrest two men who were with her.

Police say Bonner allegedly struck an officer while interfering with the arrests. She now faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police, while prosecutors declined to pursue felony charges.

See the moments leading up to the confrontation and what her attorney is demanding: https://t.co/qooLMyNT8H

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The incident began shortly before 2 a.m. as Tempe bike officers intervened in an altercation involving two men who had been with Bonner. As officers attempted to detain the men, Bonner approached them yelling, “Let him go!”

Police repeatedly ordered her to back away. According to police reports, Bonner continued interfering and was moved away from the arrest before approaching officers again. Things then escalated quickly.

Police say Bonner raised her fists and aggressively approached an officer. When the officer attempted to arrest her, the two struggled and fell near a police bicycle. According to the police report, Bonner then struck the officer on the left side of his face five or six times while he was attempting to restrain her.

The officer responded by striking Bonner in the face before another officer arrived to help handcuff her. The officer reported a several-inch cut to his forearm, scratches on his wrist, and facial pain after the confrontation.

Bonner also suffered visible facial bruising. Her attorney, Benjamin Taylor, argues police unnecessarily escalated the encounter and has called for the officer involved to be fired. Taylor has also alleged that an officer improperly touched Bonner during the struggle, an accusation the Tempe Officers Association strongly disputes.

The police union says the complete video shows Bonner ignoring repeated orders to back away before scratching and striking an officer. Tempe Police initially sought felony aggravated-assault and resisting-arrest charges.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute those felonies, concluding there was not a reasonable likelihood of conviction. The matter didn’t end there. Tempe prosecutors subsequently charged Bonner with two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police.

The department is separately conducting an internal investigation into the officers’ use of force.

MY QUICK TAKE

This is exactly why the five seconds that go viral aren’t always the five seconds that tell the story.

Watch only the takedown, and you see a young woman hit the pavement and an officer striking her.

Rewind the tape, and you see officers dealing with another arrest, repeatedly telling her to back away, her returning to the confrontation, and eventually a physical struggle in which police say she hit an officer multiple times.

That doesn’t settle whether every bit of force the officer used was appropriate. That’s what the internal investigation is supposed to examine. But “Let him go!” isn’t a magic phrase that suspends a police arrest while everybody sorts out their feelings.

The longer video is worth watching precisely because viewers don’t need somebody on social media telling them what happened. This time, they can watch what happened before the viral part too.