NACOGDOCHES, Texas — On Wednesday night, an incident between an off-duty Nacogdoches police officer and a group of young people led to the arrest of a woman.
The department released their version of the incident Thursday afternoon. One of the witnesses says she disagrees with police department's account.
"We were talking, laughing, just having a normal conversation," Tanjunikqua Brown, a witness to the arrest, said. "Out of nowhere, this man just walked up to us and was like, 'Do you all live here?' It was hostile from jump."
Brown was one of about 10 females, including students at Stephen F. Austin State University, who were approached by the unidentified officer Wednesday night outside the Overlook at Nacogdoches apartment complex.
"He was a random looking guy with regular clothes on so we were like, ‘Who are you?’ Brown said. "He responds, ‘I’m a police officer.’ And one of the girls asked if we could see his badge, which is her right to do to know that he’s a real police officer."
According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, the officer lives at the complex and works as a courtesy officer. Police said he encountered a large group of people during a criminal trespass investigation.
The department says the complex has an ongoing problem with trespassing and burglary.
"The girls you see [in the video] walking down the hills and stuff, they're going to their cars, because he'd ask everyone to basically leave," said Brown. "We then see him get in his car, and he zoomed down there on us down the hill."
Nacogdoches police says the officer ordered the individuals to stay while he continued investigating.
“Some of the girls that probably heard him did come back," Brown said. "I don’t know if the other girls heard him, but I’m assuming they did not hear him and they kept going to their cars.”
According to Brown, the officer used excessive force.
"I heard another girl that was there. She was coming to my apartment, and she says, 'He's tackling her,'" Brown said. "When I get down there, she's on the ground, face on the concrete. She's crying. Her arms are pinned behind her back. There's nothing possible that she could do to even be resisting anything."
Police say two of the women resisted their arrest while a third fled on foot. Police say the officer suffered minor injuries during the struggle. He was taken to the hospital and later released.
One of the students seen in the videos engaged in the altercation with the officer has been identified as 19-year-old Lindsey Ogbonna. She was arrested and charged with resisting arrest.
"He flips her, and he still has his arm around her neck like tight, and he's like, 'Don't move! Don't move,'" said Brown. "She's scared, basically. She's not threatening him in any way. He has her in a choke hold around her neck. There's nothing even possible for her to do."
Police are investigating the assault on the officer and may file further charges.
Nacogdoches police released the dash cam video taken the night of the incident in an effort to be transparent during their investigation.
Brown says the officer should be also be investigated for his actions.
"I just want justice for both of them, because they deserve it," said Brown. "They're the victims in this. It was dehumanizing for them. We need to know what we did to cause this, because I can't recall anything bad or wrong that we did for any of this to occur."
The videos from the incident are posted below including the dash cam video and cell phone video from witnesses.
