Two protesters arrested after encounter with mayor’s security

Two local protesters were arrested after an altercation with Mayor Michael Hancock’s security detail following an elections forum Thursday night.

In a video that was streamed live, Eric Brandt, 47, and Caryn Sodaro, 53, encountered Hancock and his police escort behind the Alliance Center.

“Why is your car put together with duct tape?” Brandt asks as the mayor’s entourage approaches a vehicle, as heard in a video he was streaming. At the same time, Brandt and Sodaro walk toward and alongside the group.

One of the group then appears to push Sodaro back by her shoulder. The police report claims that Detective D. Delmonico “put his arm out to create distance” between the mayor and Sodaro, who allegedly was creating an altercation.

“Hey, get your (expletive) hands off of ... ” Brandt exclaims, approaching Delmonico. The blurry video shows few clear details of the altercation. Delmonico is seen bent over afterward.

The narrative alleges that Brandt “pushed/ punched” Delmonico twice in the chest.

Brandt was held on investigation of second-degree assault. Sodaro is accused of obstructing government operations, and both were at the Downtown Detention Center as of Friday afternoon.

Brandt and Sodaro are frequent protesters of the administration and are known for intense encounters with police officers. Brandt carries large neon signs protesting police misconduct throughout the metro area and shouts expletives during those protests. He was not immediately arrested, but several police officers later swarmed the alley and detained him.

Sodaro was attended to by medical personnel before her arrest. She said that one member of the security detail pushed her to the ground. “I was out here to talk to the mayor,” she said while she sat in the alley after the altercation. “I stepped in between (Delmonico) and Eric because he was pushing Eric and assaulting him. … And he pushed me so hard, my back, I flew back and my head hit the corner. And my back hurts, and my head hurts really bad.”

When police arrived, they asked for witnesses, but no one besides Sodaro said they had seen the incident. Sodaro’s fall was not shown in the video.