Hot Springs, Arkansas – The body cam video of a Halloween night incident in which a teenage girl was tackled by a police officer has now been made public by Hot Springs police.
Just before 7:30 p.m., Lt. Kenny May of the Hot Springs Police Department reportedly noticed some females strolling along Glade Street and Park Avenue. After claiming to have witnessed one of the females “intentionally throw a beverage can” into the street, he allegedly turned on his car’s lights, causing the dash and body cam to start as he pulled over to the side of the road.
Lieutenant May exited his car to talk with the girl. After spotting the policeman, she dashed into the street to grab the trash can and began to leave with the other girls.
The girl was cautioned by the officer not to throw trash onto the street and was invited to meet with him. Another girl was reportedly advised by him not to “encroach” on his personal space, and she apparently did so twice. He shoved one of the girls away from him during this.
The girl with the can allegedly hurled it at the officer as she was leaving, telling him she was a minor and that she would call her mother. The policeman radioed for assistance and urged her to make contact.
He trailed behind her and asked to have a word with the girl’s mother. He also advised another adolescent to get in touch with her mother. The teenagers, according to the police, were becoming more “aggressive” and refusing to communicate with their mothers while yelling and using profanity toward the officer.
Lt. May gave them the warning to move back and cease encroaching on his personal space. Then one of the girls grabbed at him, and another hurled something in his direction.
Two of the females were violent, according to the police, and “attempted to advance” on him multiple times, “forcing him to physically push them away” in an attempt to put distance between him and the minors.
When one of the girls, dressed in a black coat and white blouse, made “physical contact” with him, he kept telling them to remain back. The girl in the black coat and one of the other females would then be pushed by May, who would then tackle her from behind.
The other three girls started hitting him in the head and neck region as soon as he did. When more cops showed up there, he got to his feet and started defending himself.
The females were subsequently handcuffed by the cops, who then drove them to the police station in police cars. After telling the paramedics that one of the girls was experiencing an asthma attack, she was given her inhaler.
Following their arrival at the Hot Springs Police Department, the females were accused with second-degree battery.
In a statement, the Hot Springs Police Department stated the following, “We never wish for officer contacts with citizens to lead to use of force, particularly when the contact involves minors. However, every person has a right to defend themselves when they are physically threatened or assaulted. In the case of law enforcement, they also have the right and authority to effect an arrest on persons who verbally threaten, physically threaten, or physically assault them or another person.”