Overview
- A late-night confrontation on July 19 on Mill Avenue began after a man with Eryn Bonner attacked another person and ended with Bonner being arrested following a struggle with officers.
- The Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute felony counts of aggravated assault of a first responder and resisting arrest, and Tempe has since dismissed an earlier misdemeanor and refiled misdemeanor charges of assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstruction to Tempe City Court.
- Bonner sustained visible bruising and a black eye, her family issued a statement decrying harm by those 'entrusted to protect and serve,' and her attorney has called for the involved officer to be fired while alleging excessive force and inappropriate touching in video footage.
- Multiple video clips have circulated and drawn sharply different readings: Bonner's lawyer says the footage shows officers escalating force, while a former officer reviewing the clips says he sees Bonner striking officers and that force may be justified; Tempe says it has fuller footage under review.
- An internal Tempe Police Department investigation remains open and could produce discipline separate from the misdemeanor case, a sequence of parallel legal and administrative steps that will influence public trust in policing on Mill Avenue.