South Bend police release bodycam footage of officer detaining teenage girl from viral video
By: -----
South Bend, IN - The South Bend Police Department held a news conference this afternoon where it showed body camera footage of the now-viral video of one of its officers detaining a teenage girl.
The incident happened last Friday near the McDonald’s on N. Michigan Street, just south of Memorial Hospital.
It has since garnered significant public interest after video of the incident was shared to social media.
During the news conference, police showed the moments before, during, and after Officer Samuel Chaput held a 14-year-old girl facedown with her head out over the curb. For the sake of time, they showed three separate portions of the bodycam video, but you can watch the bodycam video of the incident in its entirety below.
According to police, it all began with a 911 call from a McDonald’s employee, who said the teen was becoming aggressive and threatening employees while demanding a refund.
In the bodycam video shown by police, you can see Officer Chaput interact almost immediately with the teen as she is walking across the street outside of the restaurant.
After exchanging a few words, and after it appears the teen tries to walk past Officer Chaput, things became physical, and the teen ends up on the ground while screaming that she didn’t do anything.
Meanwhile, you can hear Officer Chaput telling the teen to stop hitting him while he is holding her down. Officer Chaput is also heard asking the teen if she wants to get in handcuffs or if she wants to get in the car.
A third person who is not wearing a police uniform is then seen joining Officer Chaput and appearing to help subdue the girl before. South Bend police confirmed he is not a police officer.
After the teen is pulled up from the ground, the teen is heard asking Officer Chaput for his name and badge number. The officer then appears to push the teen into the backseat of the squad car and close the door.
Police then showed another part of the bodycam video, where Officer Chaput talks to the manager of the McDonald’s. The manager told Officer Chaput that the teen was trying to get a refund, and she claimed the teen was threatening people. She also told the officer the teen was told to leave, but the teen allegedly said she wouldn’t leave until she got a refund.
In the third and final portion of the bodycam video that was shown, you can see Officer Chaput speaking with the teen while she is sitting in the backseat of a squad car. The teen said she wasn’t told to leave the restaurant, which goes against what the manager told the officer.
During their conversation, Officer Chaput tells the teen he was there to investigate criminal trespass and that she needed to stop when he asked her to stop. The teen then claims she wasn’t walking past him and says he didn’t have to grab her and throw her down.
Officer Chaput responds by saying he can if she’s not obeying and trying to get away. The teen once again refutes that she wasn’t trying to get away.
This portion of the video also shows Officer Chaput asking the teen where she lives so she can take her home. The teen is heard asking repeatedly for her phone so she can reach out to her mom.