DAVIS — Isabel Lynch doesn’t know Alexander Craver, Elijah Williams and Antwoine Perry, who Davis police arrested for allegedly assaulting peace officers on Picnic Day.
“I chose to speak out, and I chose to write what I wrote because I saw something. I was there. It didn’t sit right with me. I don’t have any connections to anybody there,” Lynch said.
What she witnessed that day bothered her. So much so, that she said she had to come forward.
She said she came into contact with the men on the sidewalk as they were leaving the area, when an unmarked minivan came close to hitting them and the passenger started yelling.
“He was saying, ‘Get the “F” outta the street. What the “F” are you guys doing?’ That’s not language you’d expect to hear from an officer,” Lynch said.
Startled by several blasts from the car horn, Perry, who stood in front of her, spoke up.
“We had an exchange of words. I said, ‘What are you honking the horn for?’ There was a couple of profanity words thrown out there. As I started to turn away, the cop came out the car and rushed me,” Perry said Tuesday.
Lynch said she saw the door open, an officer came out, approached Antwoine Perry and hit him.
“As I started to turn away, the cop came out the car and rushed me. And that’s when he tried to hit me. Next thing you know, I got hit from behind me in my jaw by another officer,” Perry said.
She said the sliding door of the minivan opened to more officers, which led to a huge street brawl. But she believes the men arrested were simply defending themselves from the officers, who didn’t identify themselves as police until later.
Lynch said she watched as Elijah Williams was on the ground and an officer put him in handcuffs.
She says Williams was yelling that the officer was hurting him, so she tried to reason with that officer.
“There was this officer with longer hair in a pony tail. And I looked at him and I said, ‘You’re hurting him.’ And that’s when he slapped my arm and he said, ‘Get the F outta here.’ And I said, ‘Excuse me. Don’t ever touch me. That was not OK,'” Lynch said.
Lynch posted to Facebook about the incident, which got the attention of Davis police, who she said called her today, wanting to meet and question her about what she saw.
Her Facebook post reads:
“…those men don’t deserve to stay in jail. If there’s one thing they’re guilty of, it’s defending themselves. I have never been so disgusted with the poor behavior the officers showed… I thought they were the ones to keep the peace, not disturb it.”
“I just feel like it all could’ve been avoided if it had been handled the proper way. The officers should’ve said, ‘Hey, we’re officers. We need you guys to move it along.’ None of that would’ve happened if they had approached it the correct way,” Lynch said.
