Philadelphia police are investigating a confrontation between an officer and a woman that went viral after being posted on social media.
Latisha White told NBC10 the incident took place on Wednesday when she was riding a dirt bike on Point Breeze Avenue in South Philadelphia. White said an officer told her she was riding a stolen bike. She told NBC10 she didn’t know it was stolen when she recently bought it.
White said she then gave the officer her information but felt scared and uncomfortable with him. She contends she then asked for a female officer to come to the scene. When that didn’t happen, she told NBC10 she resisted arrest.
“I tried to get away from him because I didn’t feel comfortable,” White said. “So I tried to get away from him and that’s when all of that happened.”
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Video of White’s arrest was posted on the No Gun Zone Instagram account and has been viewed nearly 100,000 times. White said the officer slammed her face against an SUV and used excessive force.
“He was way out of line,” White said. “I don’t mind cooperating. I help everybody in the neighborhood and if anything, the onlooking kids, I want them to see me doing right. So I didn’t have a problem going but he was just too aggressive and he was saying things no one else can hear. So I was like, ‘I’m not going with him.’”
White also responded to those who believe she shouldn’t have resisted arrest.
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“To those who say I should have followed the rules and not basically resist, you guys wasn’t in that situation, so you don’t know,” she said. “And I was scared too. Because we still see what happens everyday.”
NBC10 has not confirmed what occurred before or after the video. Both Philadelphia Police and the District Attorney’s Office are aware of it.
“We are aware of this video and our Internal Affairs Bureau is looking into this incident,” a Philadelphia Police spokesperson told NBC10.
White, meanwhile, was charged with resisting arrest and other offenses. She told NBC10 she wants an apology from the officer.
“I just want him to say sorry to me and my kids,” she said. “Because they have to live with this.”
NBC10 reached out to the Fraternal Order of Police for comment. We have not heard back from them.
