Oregon State Police(CORVALLIS, Ore.) — Oregon police have released body camera footage of the controversial arrest of a black college student who clashed with officers after they stopped her for allegedly riding her bike on the wrong side of the road.
The video, released by Oregon State Police on Monday, captured the Oct. 13 arrest of Genesis Hansen, a 21-year-old Oregon State University student who was pinned to the ground and dragged by two officers after refusing to answer their questions.
OSP said it was releasing the video in response to claims from critics, including the NAACP, who accused the officers of using excessive force and targeting the young woman because she is black.
“As an agency that is committed to eliminating racial profiling and implicit bias in policing, these allegations are being meticulously reviewed and we are compiling as much information as possible,” OSP told ABC affiliate KATU-TV. “The agency understands the importance of vigorously investigating these allegations and is taking a serious look at the incident.”
Community members in Corvallis, Oregon, where the arrest took place, also spoke out against the officers, calling the arrest “disgusting” and hard to watch.
“She was basically just standing there, and soon as they said they were going to arrest her and she stepped back, and these two men who were over a foot taller than her, just lunge at her and tackle her to the ground,” Paige Negrete, an OSU student who witnessed the arrest, told KATU. “Even when they had her on the ground they were still on top of her, until we were all yelling at them saying, you don’t need to be on top of this small woman — you’re two grown men, that’s ridiculous.”
“It chokes me up talking about it, because it was disgusting to watch,” she added.
Hansen was booked on charges of interfering with a peace officer and resisting arrest, but the Benton County district attorney dropped the charges after reviewing the video.
The NAACP held a press conference at the Benton County courthouse on Tuesday, demanding that police apologize to the student or face civic action.
“The NAACP officially denounces the victimization and the inhumane treatment, the unlawful arrest and the detention by a state trooper in the city of Corvallis and by a Corvallis police officer,” E.D. Mondaine, president of the NAACP Tri-State Conference, said Tuesday. “The brutality, the aggressiveness. Uh, wow. If I were to put it mildly, it would be mind-blowing.”
Oregon State Police said it is still investigating the incident. It did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Tuesday.
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