NEWS

Booking photo of Old Town viral video subject released

Jacy Marmaduke
jmarmaduke@coloradoan.com

The 22-year-old subject of a viral Old Town arrest video that swirled around social media this weekend "hit an officer multiple times and grabbed an officer by the throat" before a Fort Collins police officer threw her to the ground, according to her arrest affidavit.

The document, obtained by the Coloradoan on Monday afternoon, includes new details about the arrest of Colorado State University student Michaella Surat and identifies the arresting officer. Surat sustained several bruises and a concussion from the Thursday evening incident, attorney Andrew Bertrand told the Coloradoan.

Michaella Surat

Fort Collins Police Services Officer Randall Klamser arrested Surat about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the affidavit. FCPS confirmed early Monday night that Klamser was the officer shown in the video throwing Surat to the ground near the Bondi Beach Bar, according to police. Her booking photo indicates Surat is 5-feet, 9-inches and weighs 115 pounds.

"Surat resisted arrest and required force to be arrested," reads the affidavit, which Fort Collins Police Services Officer Erin Mast filled out for Klamser.

Fort Collins Police Chief John Hutto said in a statement the event will be "thoroughly investigated," including court proceedings and an internal review of Klamser's actions "from the perspective of policy and procedure."

After that, the department will release body camera footage of the incident, Hutto said. Department officials will "let the facts of the investigation guide any decision on a change of work status for the officers involved," police told the Coloradoan on Monday night.

Officers were dispatched Thursday night to reports of a "separated disturbance" between two men near Bondi Beach Bar in Old Town Fort Collins. While officers were gathering information from employees about the reported fight, the girlfriend of one of the suspects "shoulder-checked the bouncer and an officer and then pulled her boyfriend from the area," FCPS spokeswoman Kate Kimble told the Coloradoan on Saturday.

"The officers told her that her boyfriend was not free to leave but that she could go," Kimble said. "She remained at the scene, at which time she physically obstructed and struck an officer." The affidavit states that Surat grabbed an officer by the throat, "causing pain."

That's when Kimble said the officer used a "standard arrest control" to subdue Surat.

Fort Collins police said no officers were injured, and Surat was treated at Poudre Valley Hospital.

A bystander captured part of the incident on video and shared it online. The succinct clip shows what appears to be a scuffle between the woman and an officer in Old Town Square. A few seconds later, the woman and officer grapple before he brings her to the ground.

"We find the response attributed to law enforcement that this is standard procedure, if true, disturbing at best," Bertrand said in a statement provided to the Coloradoan.

By midday Saturday, the video had been viewed or shared thousands of times on Twitter and Instagram.

The incident was also captured on body-worn cameras. All District 1 police officers wear the devices, and Fort Collins Police Services is in the process of outfitting every uniformed officer in the city with the cameras.

In his statement, released Sunday, Hutto declined to unveil any new information about the incident but said the video "does not have the context or content of the full event."

"Additionally, rarely in use of force situations is there agreement from all the parties involved as to the appropriateness, efficacy, or necessity of its use," he said. "These questions are only answered through the analysis of all the evidence after the fact."

Surat, a CSU junior, was booked into the Larimer County Jail, where she has since posted a $1,750 bond. She has been formally charged with third-degree assault and obstructing a peace officer. She's due in court Wednesday.

A booking photo of Surat wasn't available as of Monday afternoon.

Coloradoan reporter Jason Pohl contributed to this report.