Video of Cop Body-Slamming Young Woman Causes Furor

Police in Colorado say it's a 'standard arrest technique'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 11, 2017 3:33 AM CDT
Video of Cop Body-Slamming Young Woman Causes Furor
An image from a nine-second video of the incident.   (Instagram)

A nine-second video showing a female college student slammed to the ground by a Colorado police officer, viewed 780,000 times on Instagram, has many accusing the officer of excessive force. But Fort Collins Police, who are investigating Thursday's incident, say people are jumping to conclusions as the video lacks "the context or content of the full event." A rep tells the Washington Post that police were called to a bar to break up a fight between two men when they encountered Michaella Surat, 22, described as one of the men's girlfriends. Authorities say Surat first "shoulder-checked" an officer while trying to reach her boyfriend to pull him away.

The member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority at Colorado State University was told her boyfriend was not free to leave, per BuzzFeed News. She was then "taken to the ground" using a "standard arrest technique" after she "physically obstructed and struck an officer," police say, per NBC News. But "we find the response attributed to law enforcement that this is standard procedure, if true, disturbing at best," Surat's family tells ABC News. They add that Surat, who was charged with third-degree assault and obstructing a police officer, suffered a chin contusion and bruises. Police are continuing to investigate and say video footage from police body cameras won't be released until the investigation wraps up. (More Colorado stories.)

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