Fresno family says police went too far striking, handcuffing teens. Here’s the video
A Fresno family says they plan to take legal action after Fresno law enforcement officers struck a boy with a baton, pushing him to the ground, and detained his sisters allegedly because one was recording officers’ interactions during a traffic stop.
Officials from the Fresno Police Department and the California Highway Patrol said officers were responding to an alleged “side show” shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday in a parking lot near the Angry Chickz chicken restaurant at Blackstone and Bullard avenues.
Videos posted on social media show a chaotic scene in the parking lot, with dozens of people present.
In video footage, officers take Jaytana and Jasalyn Her, ages 15 and 12, to the ground in handcuffs. Video footage also shows an officer strike their brother, 13-year-old Jayvian, with a baton, pushing him to the ground, as well.
While the incident remains under investigation, the Her sisters were cited on suspicion of obstructing an officer and resisting arrest. Their parents, Bobby and Nastashia Her, said they plan to fight the citation.
The Her family, who are planning to sue, said there was no side show occurring.
In California, it’s legal to record on-duty officers performing their jobs as long as the person recording doesn’t hide it or interfere with the officer’s work.
Her family recounts incident
Jaytana Her said she pulled out her cellphone to record video when she saw a CHP motorcycle officer stop a man on a motorcycle.
“We started recording because he was just leaving and he wasn’t doing anything wrong,” she said about the man on the motorcycle.
In video posted to Facebook, a CHP officer approaches Jaytana while she’s recording and takes out handcuffs. In the video, Jaytana tells the officer, “Put me in handcuffs, I don’t care,” before the camera shakes and falls to the ground while the officer detains her.
That’s when Jasalyn got involved and ran toward an officer, trying to push him away from her sister.
“Who’s gonna sit there and watch your sister get arrested?” Jasalyn said.
Video shows another officer grab Jasalyn’s arm and put her in handcuffs, as well, eventually bringing her to the ground not far from her sister.
The girls’ brother, Jayvian, also approached an officer. Videos show an officer pull out his baton and strike Jayvian, who falls to the ground.
Nastashia Her was present and told the officers she was the children’s mother.
The sisters sat in the back of a police car for about 30 minutes before they were driven about 5 minutes away to the Huckleberry’s restaurant, where they were released to their parents.
The children suffered minor injuries from the incident, including scrapes to their hands and knees. Jayvian also received a bruise on his temple from the officer’s baton.
In an interview with The Bee, the Her sisters described the incident as “terrifying.”
Law enforcement describe incident
The Fresno Police Department and California Highway Patrol gave conflicting statements to The Bee about which agency first responded and called for backup.
On Tuesday, Fresno police Lt. Bill Dooley said Fresno officers made no arrests and responded to the incident after CHP called for assistance.
Fresno police also responded to a Facebook comment asking about the incident, saying Fresno police officers responded to assist CHP, and officers continued to interview witnesses.
The same day, CHP Public Information Officer Mike Salas told The Bee in a statement that CHP officers showed up after CHP air operations called for them to assist a Fresno police unit. The lone Fresno police unit was being surrounded by “an unruly crowd of spectators involved in sideshow activity,” Salas said in the statement.
When CHP units arrived, they were surrounded by a group of “unruly” individuals, Salas said. Two people were detained without further incident, he said, and additional Fresno police resources arrived to assist and “were also faced with the unruly crowd.”
Salas said the investigation is ongoing, and encouraged anyone with information to contact CHP and Fresno police.
“Participating in on or off-street reckless driving or sideshow activity is not only a threat to public safety but is also illegal,” Salas said in his statement. “Being a spectator at the scene of such events is also dangerous and illegal. We ask for everyone’s assistance not to participate in this type of criminal activity and to please not be drawn as spectators of these illegal acts.”
Both agencies said they wouldn’t take questions or comment further on the incident while it remains under investigation.
Mom says police ‘have better things to do than mess with little kids’
Since the weekend incident, Bobby and Nastashia kept their children home from school and worry their mental health my suffer from the trauma.
Nastashia acknowledged the video footage shows her children using vulgar language, but said the officers were adults and should’ve handled the situation better.
“I think it’s wrong when you’re laying your hands on minors when they have better things to do than mess with little kids,” Jasalyn said.
The Her family believed the officers handled the situation badly, but they said they’re trying not to let it affect their judgment of all officers.
“Good cop, bad cop: that’s a true thing for us now because of what happened,” Nastashia said.
She hopes the officers involved will apologize to her children.
Bobby Her said his daughter’s actions were brave, and her actions helped someone.
The parents encouraged their children to share their story with news outlets so their voices could be heard and to send a message to others to stand up for their First Amendment rights.
“I hope this will never happen to anyone else’s child in the future,” Nastashia said.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 8:08 AM.