Ariel Harrison was arrested and taken to an Illinois jail by police. Corrections officers held her down, tased her, and later forcibly stripped her naked in front of male officers, according to recently-obtained videos. trib.al/uzqHStv
Ariel Harrison told VICE News she was afraid of being sexually assaulted in jail—and that she shouldn't have been arrested in the first place. trib.al/uzqHStv
The officers alleged she was driving under the influence but Harrison, who’s blind in her left eye, says she was never tested and was tased multiple times before being transported to jail in the back of a police vehicle. trib.al/uzqHStv
“When I watch the video of them doing that stuff to me, I’m in shock," Harrison said. "It’s like I look at them and say ‘that couldn’t be me.’” trib.al/uzqHStv
Instead of giving Harrison privacy to follow orders to take her clothes off, video shows a female officer with a taser beginning to remove Harrison’s top as a male officer watches. trib.al/uzqHStv
“I had told her that it’s not right. That he wasn’t supposed to be there while I changed,” Harrison said. “Basically, she didn’t really care. I felt like she violated my rights.” trib.al/uzqHStv
After more than a year of fighting for her freedom, Harrison is still facing five-to-seven years in prison for a variety of charges, including driving under the influence and resisting a peace officer. trib.al/uzqHStv
Harrison says the encounter not only impacted her psyche—she still has recurring nightmares—but being arrested caused her to lose custody of her three kids. She hasn’t seen them since the night she went to jail. trib.al/uzqHStv
“I came down here to Macomb to let my kids live and be free. But now my kids have been taken from me, and I have these cases against me,” Harrison told VICE News. trib.al/uzqHStv
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