Eryn Bonner’s family has spoken out after the Arizona State University cheerleader was charged following a violent arrest caught on camera.
Bonner, 21, a senior on the ASU Stunt team, faces two misdemeanor counts — disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police — stemming from the July 19 early-morning incident in Tempe, according to the Tempe Police Department. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to pursue felony charges against her, and police told ABC15 they would not resubmit them.
The Bonner family released a blistering statement to The Post about the footage showing their daughter’s arrest.
“There are no words to fully describe the heartbreak of watching our daughter being hurt by someone entrusted to protect and serve our community,” the Bonner family said.
“The hardest thing is seeing the pain and sadness in her eyes that we cannot take away,” the statement continued. “Expecting public servants to live up to the highest standards of their profession is not an act of animosity toward those who serve with honor.”
“Rather, it is essential to preserving public trust and upholding the integrity and legitimacy of our institutions,” they added. “We respectfully ask for your prayers and support as our daughter and our family continue to heal.”
Attorney Benjamin Taylor, who represents the Bonner family, has called for the officer involved to be fired and raised additional concerns about his conduct during the arrest.
“This was very extreme, very excessive and there was no need for double pushes, jumping on top and multiple strikes,” Taylor said. “The city of Tempe would be very vindictive to try to charge her again after they see what this officer did.”
“If you look at the end of the video, there’s some odd touching at the end of the video which is very concerning,” he continued. “At the end you see his hand go on her buttocks which is very odd in this situation.”
The incident unfolded around 2 a.m. On July 19 near a popular nightlife area in Tempe, when officers were arresting another individual. Bonner had been told to step back but reapproached the scene, according to police and video footage.
“Let him go, let him go,” Bonner could be heard screaming in the clip before the physical altercation began.
The viral footage, which includes bodycam video released by Tempe police, shows an officer pushing Bonner to the ground, then tossing her onto a bicycle and restraining her while appearing to punch her before another officer moves in to handcuff her. Police allege Bonner punched the officer multiple times, though the video has fueled debate about whether the response was proportional.
Josh Logan, a former Chandler police officer and founder of Guardian Training and Consulting, offered a split assessment of the force used.
“If you reach that level of active aggression, you’re within policy to perform closed fist strikes to the face,” Logan told The Post.
Still, Logan flagged specific elements of the arrest as troubling, particularly the moment Bonner was thrown onto the bicycle.
“There’s so many dangerous things on that bicycle that can cut and scrape,” he said. “I have scars from cogwheels to chains and everything in between. It appears that she’s trying to move her off the bike and that happens in a split second in a very chaotic scene, and then they take her into custody and go from there.”
The Tempe Police Department confirmed to The Post that an internal investigation into the incident is underway.
“Consistent with our policies, this incident is currently under administrative review,” the department said in a separate statement to ABC15. “The video of the incident, along with all other available evidence, will be carefully evaluated as part of that process.”
Cops added that they “take every allegation of officer misconduct seriously.”