Dr. Erusula Ore is scheduled to face several charges in court this week as the result of a physical confrontation that occurred last month after an Arizona State University police officer stopped her as she and a group of pedestrians jaywalked near campus.
But before Ore could even make her way to the other side of the street last month, she was stopped by Officer Stewart Ferrin, an armed ASU police officer, who demanded to see her photo identification.
Ore, an expert in critical race theory who has held a tenure-track professor in the English department at ASU since 2011, questioned the officer over why he had singled her out over the others, said her Phoenix-based attorney Alane Roby, who added that Ore asked the officer not to speak to her in a disrespectful tone.
But several seconds later, the officer had body slammed Ore against the patrol car and wrestled her to the ground where she was handcuffed and hauled away to face a battery of felony and misdemeanor charges.
The violent altercation caught the attention of several bystanders who quickly dialed 911 to report that Ferrin was being “way too aggressive” with the professor.
Roby said that while Ore was being manhandled by Ferrin, and another officer, her dress was hiked up and her body was fully exposed. She said that her client acted in self-defense when she kicked Ferrin in the left shin after the handcuffs were placed on her.
“Her dress was up and the officer was reaching toward her anatomy and after what had already happened, she felt uncomfortable with his hands going there,” she said in an interview with Diverse. “How does a simply act of jaywalking turn into felony action? It is our hope that the charges are dismissed outright.”
