Body-cam shows officer pushing woman

86-year-old in Tucson was part of immigration protest

Dozens of people rallied recently in downtown Tucson to protest federal detentions of migrants, walking into the road and blocking traffic during rush hour.

When Tucson police asked protesters to move back onto the sidewalks, tensions escalated.

Body-cam footage released Friday to Tucson News Now of the Feb. 16 rally appears to show an officer pushing a slight, older woman to the ground. As another woman bends to help her up, an officer sprays pepper spray in her face.

The 86-year-old woman was not injured and got back up on her own, according to the Washington Post. The woman who tried to help her up, Rolande Baker, a retired schoolteacher, said “I saw the police being way more aggressive than I’ve ever seen them be,” the Post reported.

Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the department was investigating the incident, but he told KVOA-TV the weekend after the protest that he believes officers “by and large” handled the situation well.

“Most of the crowd complied, but a very specific subgroup elected to remain in the road and challenge the directions they were given by the officers,” Magnus said in a statement.

The protest, organized in solidarity with “A Day Without Immigrants” outside the Federal Building on Congress Street, grew much larger than expected, Magnus said, leaving officers outnumbered.

Once the review is complete, it will be released to the public, according to the department.