Film Detailing Violent Arrest Of Austin Teacher Gets Oscar Nod

AUSTIN, TX — A documentary on the controversial arrest of an African American Austin elementary school teacher in 2016 is among the nominees for this year's Academy Awards.

The HBO film "Traffic Stop" centers on the routine traffic stop by an Austin police officer in 2015 that led to the violent arrest of teacher Breaion King. The documentary is nominated in the documentary, short subject, category as announced Tuesday.

After obtaining video from the Austin Police Department, the Austin American-Statesman in July 2016 broke the story of the arrest that shows King's arrest escalating violently in a span of mere seconds. Since-fired officer Bryan Richter, a white police officer, is shown on the footage forcibly removing then-26-year-old King from the driver's sat of her car before hurling her onto the asphalt.

Related story: Austin Officer Who Violently Arrested Teacher Is Fired

The police officer seemed enraged when King disregarded his command to put her legs inside her car with the door closed while he ran her ID, leading to his violent detention.

The arresting officer was fired this past Monday after new allegations of excessive force were lodged against him. The 31-minute film detailing the arrest will be available for viewing on HBO Go and HBO Now as of March 12, according the the channel's website.

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