APD defends frisking of woman after arrest video goes viral

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has denied accusations that one of its officers groped a woman after she was arrested in downtown Austin on the Fourth of July.

On Saturday, June 4, 40-year-old Rosalinda Nuno Trevino was arrested for multiple hazardous traffic violations. According to APD's statement, officers were riding their motorcycles behind a protest march to keep people safe from vehicular traffic. Trevino was driving a white SUV behind these motor officers.

Trevino began to follow the officers very closely with her vehicle and honk her horn continuously, according to the police.  She allegedly drove through empty parking spaces and attempted to move her vehicle around the officers’ motorcycles. 

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At the intersection of 2nd Street and Congress Avenue, Trevino reportedly started to honk the vehicle horn a second time and drove through a red light. Trevino then stopped her vehicle again and approached officers, according to APD.

The APD officers than arrested Trevino for running a red light, failure to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, improper use of a horn, and failure to maintain an assured clear distance.

A video that has been circulating online shows several minutes of the arrest, during which an officer can be seen touching the breast area of Rosalinda Nuno Trevino, on at least two occasions. Trevino can be heard demanding the presence of a female officer, while bystanders shout — at times using profanity — at the police, both during and after she was frisked.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 7, the Austin Police Department defended the actions of the officer after Trevino was arrested for what the department claimed were traffic violations.

“As a crowd began to form, officers moved Ms. Trevino to the front of an officer’s vehicle to conduct a search before transporting her to jail,” the department said in a statement. “While conducting the search, he advised Ms. Trevino that a female officer was not available. He conducted the search in front of a police vehicle where a vehicle camera could document and at least one other officer was present, as required by APD policy.”

Trevino can be seen in several videos on a website called “justicefortko.net” in which she alleges a member of APD has been harassing her for years. FOX 7 Austin could not confirm anything related to this site.