Video shows protester kicking officer in the groin after arrest of SLO march organizer
A video posted on Twitter shows a protester kicking a San Luis Obispo police officer in the groin after officers arrested the march organizer and placed in a patrol car.
Tianna Arata and others were loading up a vehicle near Mitchell Park after Tuesday’s protest when police suddenly approached her, took her into custody and walked her across the street to a waiting SUV.
“No words were said, not a single word was said (by the police),” said Joseph Powell, who witnessed the event. “All of a sudden they charge. ... We’re pushing back, making sure that they don’t do (expletive) to her because we know what the deal is.”
Powell said that while others pushed back on the police, Arata did not. In the video, Arata can be heard repeatedly saying, “I am not resisting,” before officers shut the vehicle door.
The video shows Arata’s supporters gathering around the car and yelling at police.
Then, an officer shoves one of the protesters to the ground. After standing back up, the protester, who has been identified as Elias Bautista, appears to yell at the officer before suddenly kicking him in the groin and then dashing off across the park.
Bautista was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer and booked into jail on a $50,000 bond.
Arata was arrested on suspicion of participation in a riot, unlawful assembly, conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest, according to police.
The arrest was “based on Arata’s actions and the actions of the organized group,” police said in the release, although it doesn’t claim she directly participated in any of the described vandalism. Arata led the group onto Highway 101, stopping traffic for about an hour.
Arata was released from jail without bail around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Bautista is also no longer in custody, according to the sheriff’s booking log.
Both Arata and Bautista have court dates set for Sept. 3.
Although R.A.C.E. Matters did not organize the protest, the organization posted about the demonstration, which was intended to be nonviolent.
“The events that unfolded during and after Tuesday night’s protest are troubling and leave us wondering what SLO County values as a community,” the organization wrote in a statement following the arrest of Arata and Bautista. “While violence is not condoned, the tactics used by law enforcement to arrest protesters after the protest ended is reason for grave concern.”
