Video Shows Worcester Police Takedown Of Teen During Protest

WORCESTER, MA — A video shot during a June 1 clash between Worcester police and protesters appears to show officers using force on a 19-year-old woman as a tactical squad was clearing demonstrators from a Main South roadway.

Nineteen people were arrested between June 1 and June 2 after a small group of protesters marched down Main Street following a larger, peaceful rally earlier in the evening. The video of the arrest of Lasunia Bell adds detail to an event that has had repercussions across the city — from sparking a movement to defund police to renewing a call to fund police body cameras.

The video of Bell's arrest was shared with Patch by a family member. The video, which is about 25 seconds long, begins with a shot of a line of police chanting "move." As the camera pans to one side of the street, a woman identified by a family member as Bell can be seen standing on a sidewalk.

At one point, it sounds as if an officer yells at her to "go home." She moves in front of the line of officers and appears to scream, "Don't tell me to go home!" At the same time, she puts her hands up in the air in front of one officer. It's unclear in the video if there's any physical contact.

An officer standing nearby suddenly moves forward and appears to either push Bell or jab her with a baton, and then several officers swoop in and grab her. Another protester can be seen trying to pull Bell away from the officers just before the video ends. In one of the last frames of the video, a police officer puts his body between the camera and the arrest, blocking any further recording.

According to a police report, Bell was part of a crowd that was being "raked" — a maneuver police use "to bring defiant individuals towards the arrest team," a police report says. Police had already ordered the crowd to disburse after clashes where protesters reportedly lit fires and shot at police with fireworks, and where police used crowd control weapons.

"[T]actical response team members were ordered to march towards the unlawful assembled crowd and those who refused to disperse were raked," a police report says.

But there are limited details in the report about what type of force was used against Bell.

The police report only says,"Lasunia Bell was taken to the ground and was given several commands to stop resisting and place her hands behind her back."

Other officers filed more detailed reports about using force against protesters that night using the same language. In describing the arrest of a 22-year-old Millbury woman, an officer wrote, "[Ashley Briddon] was taken to the ground and was given several commands to stop resisting and place her hands behind her back." Veronica Pasquantonio, 28, of Westport "was taken to the ground and was given several commands to stop resisting and place her hands behind her back. At this time, I Nathan Lafleche straddled the rear of her to prevent further kicking," a use-of-force report says.

Bell did not respond to multiple email requests for an interview about the arrest.

Police and protesters have offered different views on what happened June 1, but the event kicked off a summer of debate around police policy in Worcester.

Because four of its students were arrested on June 1, Clark University announced it would stop hiring Worcester officers for security, and the school hired private attorneys to investigate what happened. In response, Worcester City Councilors accused the college of mounting a "publicity stunt."

Clark's published its independent report on July 1 written by Worcester attorneys Michael Angelini and Brian Mullin. They confirmed that protesters threw objects at police, but also that the students may have been mistreated during their arrests. The report found "credible" evidence that police punched one of the students while he was laying on the ground, leaving him with scrapes across his face.

Worcester police also reported injuries, with one officer hit by a piece of concrete, and another burned by a Roman candle firework. A police cruiser was also hit by a firework and caught fire, police said.

Repercussions from the protest were also felt at City Hall. The group Defund WPD coalesced after the June 1 demonstration, according to members. The group set its sights on limiting the proposed increase in the police department's budget heading into the 2021 fiscal year. The police budget increase did go through, but the City Council never actually approved the budget after At-large Councilor Khyrstian King called for it to be reconsidered.

In response, police supporters have held "Back the Blue" rallies multiple times in Worcester. A group has also been placing "Defend Your Police" signs across central Massachusetts, including billboard-sized signs near Union Station in Worcester, and over I-495 in Milford.

The same day Clark's report on the protest came out, District 1 Councilor Sean Rose called for full funding of body cameras for Worcester police January, which could cost up to $11 million, according to department estimates. The City Council is set to continue discussions on body cams at meetings scheduled for Tuesday.

The 19 people arrested after the demonstration are still filtering through the courts. Bell was arraigned on Thursday on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. A judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf, and she will next appear in court on Oct. 26.