Tempe prosecutors charge ASU cheerleader following viral police confrontation

Eryn Bonner, a 21-year-old Arizona State University cheerleader, has been charged with two misdemeanors following a viral July incident in Tempe. The charges, filed by the City of Tempe Prosecutor’s Office, include disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police.

The charges stem from a confrontation outside the CASA nightclub on July 19. Bystander video shows Bonner attempting to intervene while officers arrested her friends. During the struggle, a member of the Tempe Police Department’s bike patrol pushed Bonner to the ground and struck her in the face. While Bonner was initially facing felony counts of aggravated assault on a first responder and resisting arrest, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute those charges.

Bonner’s attorney, Benjamin Taylor, has characterized the misdemeanor charges as a ‘political prosecution.’ He alleges that the city is capitulating to pressure from the police union to cover up officer wrongdoing rather than ensuring accountability and transparency.