Cheerleader says she was punched in the face and ‘groped’ by cop

DAILYMAIL.COM • 6h ago

By JACK TOLEDO and RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER 06:26 08 Oct 2026, updated 06:26 08 Oct 2026

An Arizona college cheerleader claimed she was punched in the face and groped by a police officer during her arrest, which was filmed and has since gone viral.

Video showed Eryn Bonner, 21, in a late-night melee with cops on July 19 in Tempe, flying into a frenzy in a skimpy white outfit as she screamed at officers arresting her friends.

Bonner now faces two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and hindering/interfering, according to Tempe Municipal Court records.

Her attorney Benjamin Taylor told the Daily Mail she pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed one officer groped his client during the arrest.

‘The fact that he groped her and grabbed her buttocks and sexually assaulted her. He deserves to be fired,’ said the attorney.

Taylor also accused officers of escalating the situation and shared concerns that an internal affairs investigation is under the authority ‘of a sergeant who was previously suspended in a use-of-force case.’

‘This excessive force was unnecessary and could have been easily de-escalated,’ added Taylor.

‘And to have a grown man beat up a woman like that, he must have some sort of domestic violence issues that he’s hiding.’

The Tempe Officers’ Association told AZ Family the attorney’s groping allegation was ‘inflammatory.’

The association added that Bonner is attempting to avoid accountability for creating a struggle with her failure to back away and calm down.

One upload of the brawl garnered more than 150,000 likes and at least 500,000 views.

Video of the confrontation showed two police officers arresting one of Bonner’s friends after he allegedly attacked another man standing on the sidewalk outside the CASA nightclub.

Another of her friends tried to pull them apart, leading officers to hurl both men to the ground and try to place them in handcuffs.

Bonner, who is on the Arizona State University stunt team, then grabbed at one of the cops and tried to pull him off the second man, and the footage showed the officers ordering her to ‘get back’ – which she ignored.

One of the officers then turned to Bonner and pushed her to the ground, before throwing her over a bike and striking her in the face.

Witnesses could be heard pleading with the officers to stop during the struggle, as Bonner’s friends were also handcuffed and arrested on the ground.

Bonner was initially charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault on a first responder and resisting arrest, but the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute.

The City of Tempe Prosecutor’s Office filed the misdemeanor charges against Bonner on September 23.

Taylor said his client was hit with the charges after filing a complaint about the officer who arrested Bonner.

‘This is definitely retaliation against the fact that she made a complaint against the City of Tempe’s Police Department for groping her,’ said the attorney.

‘And it’s clear, clear on the video that you see the officer grab her butt when she’s face down being handcuffed. There was no need for that.’

‘And the City of Tempe has never addressed that issue with Miss Bonner or with anybody of why is this officer grabbing her butt at the end of the video.’

The footage of an officer punching Bonner in the face during the incident sparked backlash on social media, as her family accused the officers of excessive force.

However, Tempe Police alleged in court documents that Bonner was the first to strike one of the cops, accusing her of hitting an officer around five times before she was hit back.

A Tempe Police Department spokesperson told the local news station an internal review of the incident is still ongoing.

The men Bonner was accused of trying to help were formally identified as Isaiah Johnson, 21, and Jonathan Nwariaku, 21.

Following the incident, Nwariaku is facing charges of assault and disorderly conduct, and Johnson is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Bonner has a pretrial hearing scheduled for November 4.

The Daily Mail contacted the City of Tempe Prosecutor’s Office, Tempe Police and Bonner’s attorney for comment.

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