Arizona cheerleader charged after intervening in police arrests
Arizona State University cheerleader Eryn Bonner, 21, has been charged with misdemeanour offences following a confrontation with police outside a Tempe nightclub on 19 July. The charges—disorderly conduct and hindering/interfering with police—were filed after she allegedly attempted to intervene when officers arrested her friends, resulting in footage showing an officer punching her in the face. The case has sparked debate over police conduct after her initial felony charges were dropped by prosecutors.
The incident began when police responded to an assault allegation outside a nightclub, and as officers arrested one of Bonner's acquaintances, she attempted to pull an officer away from a second man being arrested. When ordered to "get back," Bonner reportedly refused, leading an officer to push her to the ground and strike her in the face. Police allege Bonner struck an officer approximately five times before being hit; her attorney has countered that officers used excessive force and claims she was groped during the arrest. Bonner's friends were also arrested, and she has a pretrial hearing scheduled for 4 November.
- ASU cheerleader charged after July nightclub police altercation
- Felony charges dropped; now facing misdemeanour counts
- Punching incident sparked excessive force debate
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A 21-year-old Arizona State University cheerleader was charged after a confrontation with police outside a Tempe nightclub in July. Eryn Bonner attempted to intervene when officers were making arrests, and during the altercation she was struck in the face by an officer, an incident captured on video.
Bonner has been charged with misdemeanour offences including disorderly conduct and hindering police, though prosecutors dropped more serious felony charges. Police allege that before being hit, she struck an officer multiple times and refused to step back when ordered. Bonner's legal team disputes this, arguing that officers used excessive force and that she was groped during the arrest.
The case has drawn attention to broader questions about police conduct and the use of force during arrests. The incident has sparked debate about how law enforcement should respond when civilians attempt to intervene in arrests. The conflicting accounts of what happened that night continue to fuel this discussion.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Cheerleader, 21, is charged after shocking bodycam footage showed her hurled to the ground by cops after she tried to obstruct a man’s arrest”.