Woman whose forceful arrest was caught on social media says: 'I was just saying stuff'

A woman whose forceful arrest by New Castle County police was captured on video late last month said she has mental health issues, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, causing her to have a panic attack when confronted by police last month.

N'Finitee Coleman's June 29 arrest is under investigation by the department following the publication of the video online. She said her mental health disorder kicked in shortly after police stopped her in a Bear Royal Farms parking lot for a traffic violation.

After that, Coleman said she didn't recall much of what happened until police released body camera footage of the arrest. The body-cam release occurred on July 4.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of the stuff," the 28-year-old Middletown woman said at a Tuesday morning press conference. "If it wasn't for the bodycam footage, I wouldn't have remembered half of the stuff I said."

New Castle County police said they would not comment on an ongoing investigation, which started shortly after onlookers took video of the arrest and posted it online. The Police Department released police bodycam video of four of its officers arresting Coleman after she initially refused multiple police orders to get out of her vehicle following a traffic stop.

More:New Castle County releases video of woman's controversial arrest caught on social media

Coleman's attorney, Emeka Igwe, said his client is a victim of the officers who assaulted her.

"It's important to understand that Miss Coleman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. She has mental health challenges," Igwe said. "As officers, you know you're going to encounter people who may have mental health challenges or may be going through whatever circumstances.

"You're trained to be professional and to know how to de-escalate situations. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with Miss Coleman."

While a lawsuit has not been filed, Igwe told reporters he would like for Coleman to be monetarily compensated for the injuries she sustained during the arrest. He also said they want police to receive training.

"We want some kind of reform," he said. "We want some sort of training, remedial training for these officers to let them know that it's not OK to punch someone in the head. Again, Miss Coleman could have suffered a concussion or could have died from blows being inflicted to the head.

"We all know that it's common sense and, as an officer, you are supposed to de-escalate a situation."

More:Woman's arrest by New Castle County officers captured on social media under investigation

Anxiety disorder no excuse for bad manners, psychiatrist says

A Delaware psychiatrist who read news articles about Coleman's interactions with police said a panic disorder or post-traumatic disorder would not explain her behavior before the arrest − this includes the erratic driving, the officer's claims she yelled obscenities at him and the taunting of officers.

"I mean, that's just disrespectful behavior, right?" said Dr. Carol Tavani, director of Christiana Psychiatric Services and former president of the Medical Society of Delaware. "An anxiety disorder is no excuse for bad manners."

Tavani, who did not examine Coleman, said that while an anxiety disorder wouldn't explain her behavior, the woman might have been frightened.

"If she was an anxious person or she was post-traumatic, it could be that at that point she got scared," Tavani said. "And that may have set off a panic attack."

Once fear set in, Tavani said, conditions deteriorated and then it snowballed mentally for her.

"Once things snowballed out of control, she probably went into the panic attack and then she very well may not remember a lot of what went on," Tavani said.

Tavani added that police in Delaware receive crisis intervention training, which teaches officers not to automatically use force when someone does not comply. Part of this course, which she teaches, is to have law enforcement recognize mental health issues and then take a different technique, such as a calm, assertive approach.

"In other words, if you're screaming orders to somebody who's totally out in the weeds," she said, "they're not going to follow your orders."

In this case, Tavani said she doesn't know how police could have known Coleman had mental health disorders based on what she has read.

'The help that I needed never comes'

Coleman, who was teary and had to pause during the press conference, said she'd dropped her daughter off at a birthday party and was on Pulaski Highway (U.S. Route 40), heading to Glasgow Park when she noticed an officer following her.

Police said Coleman was driving unsafely, including driving too closely behind other vehicles and making lane changes without signaling. Coleman said she always signals and did so this time.

There was no release of video showing whether she signaled or not.

After the officer turned his emergency lights on, Coleman said, she headed into the Royal Farms' parking lot at 1551 Pulaski Highway. As she backed into a parking spot, she said the officer drove his car toward her making her think he was going to hit her.

"So at that moment, I'm asking him what is the problem?" Coleman said she asked the officer. Police, in court documents, have said Coleman was yelling obscenities at the officer.

An exchange began with the officer who repeatedly asked her to get out of her vehicle. Coleman said she started feeling threatened by the officer who forced her vehicle's door open. This is about the time her anxiety began and she said things she doesn't remember saying.

"That's when the fear comes in," Coleman said, adding she was willing to comply if the officer had his supervisor show up. It's unknown if a supervisor arrived, but the officers who showed up were there to back up the officer who stopped Coleman.

"The help that I needed never comes," she told reporters on Tuesday.

Woman says she was 'no longer in my body'

As Coleman gets out of her vehicle, three officers grab her before taking her down to the ground.

Coleman said one officer was pulling her to the right while another officer pulled her to the left. She added she was even getting pushed up against her Toyota.

"I just shut out because I'm no longer in my body at the moment," Coleman recalled. "I am worried for my life at this moment. I am terrified."

She said she doesn't recall anyone telling her to get on the ground.

"The whole interaction was confusing," she said.

Once taken to the ground, Coleman can be seen on the video grabbing at one of the officer's feet.

The officer yells for her to let go of his foot.

That's when one officer can be seen punching her in the head and a fourth officer runs toward the group and starts punching Coleman. Officers were able to break her hold on the foot and place her on her stomach. Coleman continued to struggle, but officers eventually placed her arms behind her back and handcuffed her.

She was then placed in a police SUV, but not before threats of a lawsuit and a brief struggle to get her in the police vehicle.

Coleman has been charged with two counts of offensive touching of a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. She's also been charged with several traffic violations, including improper window tinting on the front and side windows and a canceled registration card.

Igwe, however, said his client's registration card is valid and officers falsely charged her with that.

No memory of certain things during police encounter

When asked why she taunted police and talked to them in the manner that she did, Coleman blamed this on the panic attack she was going through.

"So with my anxiety being so high up when my door was forcibly open, everything was intensified. Everything was magnified," she said. "So yes, I was just saying stuff, just to say stuff."

When asked why she grabbed the officer's foot once on the ground, Coleman said she doesn't remember grabbing anyone: "But you do have to remember I do have PTSD."

PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event, according to the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American academic medical center. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, according to Mayo's website. People can overcome this with time and good self-care.

"If anything, I'm trying to protect myself, because again, my hair was pulled and I was being pulled in different directions," Coleman said. "I don't know what was happening or what occurred. So I'm protecting myself."

Coleman does not carry any paperwork explaining she has a mental disorder. She alluded that officers might have had an inkling of her mental condition because she had a registered service dog in the SUV with her. But she also admits the dog was not wearing the vest identifying it as a service animal.

Coleman insists that mentally she wasn't there doing the arrest.

"The only thing that was on my mind was my child," she said, "and if I was going to be able to get back to her."Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.