Black teenager says police officer drew gun on her, punched her in the mouth and bitten by K9 dog

Police have admitted it was a case of mistaken identity

A black female teenager from California has told how she was attacked by police, threatened at gun-point and then was then bitten by a police dog, as officers searched for a large, bald man who had allegedly threatened people with a machete.

The 19-year-old said at one people she the assault was so intense she told them “I cant breathe, I can’t breathe” - the same words made notorious after black suspect Eric Garner died after being put in an illegal choke hold by officers in New York.

Tatyana Hargrove said she was cycling to buy her father a gift for Father’s Day, when she pulled over to drink some water, on a day when the temperature had passed 100F. In video that has been produced by the Bakersfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) she turned round to see three police vehicles and group of officers.

Speaking while standing on crutches at the spot where the incident last month took place, the teenager’s scratches, bites and bruises are clear to see.

She said one of the officers had a gun drawn, while another told her they wanted to look in her backpack. When she asked if they had a warrant, she said one officer said to her “look over there”. When she looked around, she saw a police dog.

Ms Hargrove said she was handcuffed, punched and then bitten on the leg by the dog. Her mother said her daughter had called her from the hospital.

“I thought she was joking,” she said. “She was like, ‘Mom, I’m in a hospital, the police beat me and a dog bit me’.”

Bakersfield police have defended their actions. They said that at the time they were looking for a suspect said to be a 25-30-year-old, bald black man standing 5ft 10in and weighing about 170 pounds. Ms Hargrove is 5ft 2in

“She appeared to be a male and matched the description of the suspect that had brandished the machete and was also within the same complex the suspect had fled to,” arresting officer Christopher Moore, wrote in his report.

Ms Hargrove was arrested for resisting or delaying an officer and aggravated assault on an officer. The teenager was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of her injuries, including the dog bite.

A police spokesman, Sgt Ryan Kroeker, that while the department had initially decided its actions were justified they were keen to strengthen community relations. He added: “That is why he ordered an internal investigation.”

The NAACP is organising a “Justice for Tatyana” rally Thursday and has started a Change.org petition in order to have her charges dropped.

The teenager’s father, who is not named in the video, said: “Why should my daughter be charged with a crime? All she did was stop to drink some water because it was 100-something degrees. That’s ridiculous. She was coming home to celebrate Father’s Day with me. It’s not right. It’s not right.”