Cops say a University professor was jaywalking, but the incident ended in a physical confrontation. INSIDE EDITION speaks with the professor and her attorneys.
Shocking, just-released police dashcam video has surfaced as a University professor is slammed to the ground, and you won't believe why.
Police say she was jaywalking. Then, they say she refused to show I.D.
In the dashcam video, a cop says, "Stop fighting me and put your hands behind your..."
The professor said, "Stop touching me! Stop!"
A bystander called 911, and said, "There's a police officer who's getting way too aggressive with a young lady who's on the street."
The woman arrested is Arizona State University English professor Ersula Ore, and she spoke out to INSIDE EDITION with her lawyers by her side.
INSIDE EDITION's Megan Alexander asked, "It seems highly unusual to arrest someone for jaywalking. Was that your reaction?"
Watch Ore's Interview with INSIDE EDITION
"I just wanted to know what I had done wrong. I was just crossing the street," answered Ore.
The nasty incident happened last month when the professor was stopped by police as she was crossing in the middle of a street on the ASU campus. Here is what the cop said to her off-camera:
Cop: "Let me see your ID or you will be arrested for failing to provide ID."
Ore: "Are you serious?"
Cop: "Yes, I am serious. That is the law."
Ore told INSIDE EDITION, "I don't know what I was in violation of physically, as far as the law goes. But it seems like asking a question to ask for clarification was a problem."
The dashcam video then shows the cop trying to handcuff her, while she tells him her short dress is riding up and exposing her.
Cop: "Put your hand behind your back right now. I'm gonna slam you on this car. Put your hand behind your back."
Ore: "You really want to do that? Do you see what I'm wearing?"
Cop: "I don't care what you're wearing. Put your hand behind your back right now!"
Ore: "Don't talk to me like this. This entire thing has been about your lack of respect for me, for me as a citizen, as a professor of the University of Arizona State!"
That's when things really deteriorated and the professor was thrown to the ground. She was pulled to her feet and that's when she kicked the cop in the leg.
One of Ore's attorneys told INSIDE EDITION, "We are starting a self-defense claim, because at that juncture, Dr. Ore was mistreated and excessive force was used."
Arizona State Unversity originally said it "found no evidence of inappropriate actions by the officers involved" but now says it will investigate to see if "excessive force was used and if there was any racial motivation by the officers involved."
Professor Ore faces charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, all from a simple case of jaywalking.
"It got real scary really quick," Ore told INSIDE EDITION.
There are a number of states where law enforcement can request to see identification, though penalties do vary widely. Wikipedia lists the states shown in red among them.
