A 17-year-old girl said she was “injured everywhere” when a San Bernardino police officer threw her on the ground to film the arrest.
The teenager was identified as only Erin at a press conference on Sunday, showing wounds on her face and chin.
“I'm just in pain,” she said in a video broadcast on ABC-7. “My head, my whole body. I'm not the same person.”
In a video widely circulated on social media, three officers stood guard while the fourth attempted to handcuff Erin, and then first put her on the ground.
The person who was filming shouted, “Hey!” and walked towards the girl lying on the asphalt. Two officers reached out to their batons and shouted for the people who were filming for backup.
Erin's mother, Tanya Brownridge, said she wanted the San Bernardino Police Department to respond directly to the arrest but was not arrested.
“They gave us three different stories,” Brownridge said in a press conference. “One for me, one for my mom, one for my sister. I just want justice. That's it.”
In an unsigned statement posted on the department’s Facebook page, San Bernardino police officials said Erin was arrested in the 500 block of West 2nd Street on the afternoon of May 21.
An official detained the teenager for alleged trespassing and “trying to fight others,” the statement said.
Officials said the undetermined officer stood by and watched one hand before trying to leave, prompting him to use the “removal maneuver.”
Officials said Erin was treated for a cut face in the hospital. They added that officials use force “based on behavior, not on age, gender or race.”
Officials said the supervisor is now reviewing whether the officer's actions are “necessary, reasonable and within the scope of policy.”
