A political prosecution.
That’s how Eryn Bonner’s attorney is characterizing the Tempe city prosecutors’ decision to file charges against his client, an ASU student who was punched in the face by a police officer during a chaotic arrest over the summer.
Read more Phoenix real estate market is balanced, according to a new report
Benjamin Taylor said the misdemeanor charges filed against Bonner, an ASU senior and STUNT team member whose violent arrest sparked outrage in Tempe, are the result of the city capitulating to the police union.
Tempe city prosecutors officially charged the 21-year-old Bonner with two misdemeanors — disorderly conduct for fighting and hindering/interfering with police — that stem from the July arrest outside C.A.S.A. on Mill Avenue. During the arrest, Bonner was shoved to the ground and then tackled and punched in the face by a member of the Tempe Police Department’s bike patrol. Video posted online by a bystander went viral and prompted calls for an investigation into the incident.
“The city police union has been pressuring the city, the city leadership to bring charges for months now,” said Taylor. “Instead of showing accountability and transparency — accountability to their officers for their wrongdoing and transparency to the community — what they’re trying to do is cover up for the wrongdoing of their officers.”
The charges come after upset community members flooded Tempe’s first city council meeting after the summer break and dominated the public comment. One by one, speakers took to the mic in support of Bonner, asking the council to urge the city not to press charges. Only one speaker spoke in support of prosecuting her: Rob Ferraro, president of the Tempe Officers Association.
In an email to Phoenix New Times, the union president reiterated the union’s support of the officers involved and stood by the city’s decision to prosecute.
“The filing of charges against Ms. Bonner aligns with what the complete video evidence has shown from the beginning: This incident was far different from the brief clip circulated on social media and her attorney’s repeated misstatements and outright lies about the facts of the case,” Ferraro wrote.
Kris Baxter, communications director for Tempe, declined to comment on the accusation that the charges against Bonner were politically motivated.
Read more Fontes, Kolodin trade jabs, then nearly real punches, in feisty debate
The Tempe Police Department originally submitted two felony charges and a misdemeanor against Bonner to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. It then resubmitted the misdemeanors in August in city court after the county attorney declined to prosecute Bonner for the incident. This week, the city decided to accept the charges and filed them in Tempe City Court.
“It has the smellings of politics behind it when you have charges brought two months later after the county attorney decided not to bring charges,” Taylor said. “It’s very political and is basically to avoid potential civil liability and to try to cover up for their officers’ wrongdoing.”
Bonner was arrested with two young men outside of C.A.S.A. on Mill Avenue just after 1:30 a.m. on July 19. A bystander took footage of the incident and posted it online. The footage, which shows an officer shoving Bonner to the ground, then tackling her onto a bicycle and punching her in the face, sparked outrage and calls for a thorough investigation from Tempe residents and elected officials alike. It also prompted the police department to release edited surveillance and body-camera footage from the bike patrol officers involved in the incident.
The city charged the young men arrested along with Bonner, Jonathan Nwariaku and Isaiah Johnson, with misdemeanors for the incident. Prosecutors charged Nwariaku with assault and disorderly conduct for fighting, and Johnson with disorderly conduct for fighting and passive resisting arrest. Tempe has since dropped the charges against Johnson. Johnson and Nwariaku could not be reached for this story.
Taylor said Bonner’s case echoes that of another client of his, Jalen Woods, an off-duty Chicago police officer who was arrested in Tempe in 2024 whose charges were ultimately dropped. The city needs to reconsider the charges against Bonner as well, Taylor said.
“They need to listen to all the people who came out,” he said. “They need to have a heart-to-heart to see why are they going after this woman so hardcore in the media and in court.”
Read more Marana’s Troubled Prison Is Set to Become an ICE Detention Center