Natalie San Luis
APD had a pretty rough weekend,
PR-wise.
On Thursday, a young woman was
detained and then arrested while jogging when she reportedly jaywalked in West
Campus. After failing to provide identification, a group of four police
officers arrested her.
Photos and a video of the
encounter were taken by UT student Chris Quintero, who claimed that an officer
ran after her and grabbed her by the arm.
Police Chief Art Acevedo didn't
make the situation better when he commented the next day, "In other cities
there's cops who are actually committing sexual assaults on duty, so I thank
God that this is what passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas."
Did you just do a double take
too?
According to Quintero, police
officers had been standing on a corner in West Campus writing citations to
passersby who were jaywalking.
At one point, the young woman
wearing earbuds jogged past. An officer followed her and grabbed her arm, which
she jerked away.
In his blog, Quintero wrote,
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 now
they were 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 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. We now have four cops
and one small, helpless girl in the back of a cop car, because she was just
going for a run.
After the incident received
significant attention from local media, APD Police Chief Art Acevedo addressed
the arrest at a press conference. Surprisingly, he vehemently defended the
officers involved.
"Whether or not he grabbed
her by behind it doesn't...it's not relevant," Acevedo said. "At some
point she knows it's a cop. The cop asked her a lawful question that she is
lawfully required to answer and she didn't. That's why she went to jail."
"It's kind of interesting
what passes for controversy in Austin, Texas," he added. "Thank you
Lord that there's a controversy in Austin, Texas that we actually had the
audacity to touch somebody by the arm and tell them 'Oh my goodness, Austin
Police, we're trying to get your attention.' Whew! In other cities, cops are
actually committing sexual assaults on duty, so I thank God that this is what
passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas."
I kind of understand the
comment that Acevedo is trying to make, but he's not doing himself any favors
by patting his officers on the back for not also sexually assaulting citizens.
Also, Art Acevedo doesn't get
to evaluate how frightening it is to get grabbed by a strange person in the
street until Art Acevedo is a woman who has endured street harassment.
The day after his interview,
Acevedo released an apology, in which he said, "In hindsight I believe the
comparison was a poor analogy, and for this I apologize. I stand committed to transparent leadership
and will continue to engage the community we serve in an open, honest, and
timely manner."
