Tempe's two newest councilmembers condemned the actions of a bike cop during a late-night fight on Mill Avenue just weeks after being sworn in.
"In the footage we have reviewed, all of which is available online, it appears that the officers used force in a disproportionate manner without attempting de-escalation," Bobby Nichols and Brooke St. George said in a joint statement posted on Facebook.
Bystander video and body camera footage provided by Tempe showed police officers trying to break up a fight that occurred around 1:40 a.m. on July 19. According to the footage, a 21-year-old woman, later identified as Eryn Bonner, attempted to pull officers off one man, which resulted in her being pushed to the ground twice after being told to back away.
During the fight, she and a police officer fell over a bike. According to the preliminary arrest report, Bonner continued flailing her arms in an effort to resist arrest, police wrote. That led one officer to punch her in the face, the video showed.
Bonner was initially booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated assault of a first responder, a Class 4 felony, and resisting arrest, a Class 6 felony, but the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute.
The Tempe Police Department initiated an internal investigation to decide whether the officer's actions were appropriate and consistent with policy.
The two freshman councilmembers, elected in May and yet to attend their first council meeting, disagreed.
"Every single member of our community deserves safety, and failures to de-escalate and disproportionate uses of force by law enforcement actively undermine community security," Nichols and St. George said.
Other councilmembers and Mayor Corey Woods have not publicly responded to the incident.
The Tempe Officers Association, the local police union, was quick to defend the police officers' actions in the days after a video of the incident taken by a bystander went viral on Facebook.
The organization was, again, quick to respond to the councilmembers' claims.
"It's irresponsible that two newly elected members of the Tempe City Council — only days into their terms — have decided to play politics in the middle of TPD's ongoing investigation into the July 19 Mill Avenue incident," the organization said in a Facebook post. "Both pre-judged the investigation in their public statements, declaring the officers' use of force 'disproportionate' and claiming there was no attempt at de-escalation.
"Tempe officers deserve leaders willing to follow the evidence, not predetermined narratives that fit an anti-law enforcement agenda."
The organization is led by Rob Ferraro.
Reactions online to the videos were mixed. Some supported the officers, placing the blame on Bonner for not following directions, while others sided with Nichols and St. George, saying the officers were too aggressive.
Neither Nichols nor St. George were endorsed or supported by firefighter or police unions during their bid for council earlier this year. The unions backed incumbents Jennifer Adams and Berdetta Hodge, who they defeated in a runoff in May.
Lauren De Young covers transportation and the cities of Tempe and Chandler for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at ldeyoung@azcentral.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Tempe councilmembers condemn police after Mill Avenue fight
