Aurora police release dashcam video of traffic stop, arrests

AURORA, Ill. - Police in west suburban Aurora have released dashcam video of officers pulling a man and woman out of a car and arresting them Saturday after a shorter clip of the video circulated on social media over the weekend.

Officials released the 20-minute video Sunday night “in an effort to tell the entire story” of the Saturday afternoon arrest, according to a statement from Aurora police.

Police said an officer pulled the car over about 6:30 p.m. after spotting it with a door open at a red light at New York Street and Eola Avenue and seeing people fighting inside.

The video shows officers pulling a screaming woman out of the car’s passenger seat after she refused to provide identification during the stop. Police said the man tried to prevent officers from pulling her out of the car.

The woman is repeatedly heard yelling “I can’t breathe,” during the arrest.

“During the incident, neither offender had any pressure applied to their neck or were restrained in any way that could prevent them from breathing,” police said in a statement.

NOTE: This video contains graphic language and may be disturbing to some viewers. Watch at your own discretion.

Police said the man and woman both claimed they were injured during the arrest, and they were taken to hospitals to be evaluated before being released back into police custody without injuries.

The 22-year-old man was charged with a felony count of aggravated resisting arrest while the 22-year-old woman was charged with one misdemeanor count each of obstructing identification and resisting arrest, police said.

One police officer suffered a laceration to his forearm and a laceration with bruising on his forehead during the arrest, police said.