Viral arrest video students will face trial
Nicole Braham and Maddie Hemphill Photo credit: Lucas Moran
The two Chico State students who were the subjects of a controversial arrest video faced arraignment on Sept. 17.
The Orion previously interviewed Nicole Braham and Maddie Hemphill who were both charged with resisting arrest following a confrontation with a Chico Police Department officer.
Braham, who can be seen being apprehended in the arrest video, was ordered to return to court to face her charge. Upon request, she was appointed a public defender.
Hemphill, who’s phone disappeared from the scene sometime after she was apprehended, was not ordered to return to court. Since the arrest, the district attorney has opened an investigation into the whereabouts of her phone.
“They apparently put in a warrant with Apple and T-Mobile to try and track my phone,” said Hemphill. “There was data usage up until [the] Monday that they declared it lost.”
Any data usage should have come with a GPS location, according to Hemphill. This could help investigators piece together what happened to her phone once it left her possession.
Braham will face trial at the Chico courthouse on Sept. 29 at 8:30 a.m. The Orion will continue to update this story.
Lucas Moran can be reached at [email protected] or @lucasmoran141 on Twitter.
Perry Mason // Sep 20, 2016 at 10:07 am
Looking forward to the trial of these two women who got arrested even though they committed no crime. According the newspapers reports they were arrested for trying to enter their house. And because they had a broken tail light. The cop in this case, Officer Dyke, claims the fact that one of the women had filmed him earlier making an arrest has no bearing on the fact he’s body slamming one of the women to the ground a half an hour later. In fact, he didn’t even remember her, he claims. Geez, this officer Dyke is an obvious liar, you can surmise his entire police report in this incident – and probably a lot of others – is a complete fiction. And how about this obvious anger management problem Officer Dyke has? If you mouth him, or film him with your cell phone, look out! You may get body slammed later and carted off to jail on some bogus charge. These college women have a false arrest, police brutality and a violation of civil rights case here. If they lawyer up with a civil lawyer they can make major money on this case – probably enough to pay for four years of college for both women. The fact that this elderly, primitive, backward Butte County DA – Mike Ramsey – he’s been in office 35 years – is making this case top priority for his office is just ludicrous. Ramsey, as many know, believes police officers can use any kind of force when making an arrest – for Ramsey there is no such thing as excessive force. As many may recall, Ramsey prosecuted this Paradise police officer – who gunned down a drunk driver crawling out of his overturned vehicle for no reason – very reluctantly. The only reason he is doing it is because the tape of the murdered DUI suspect went viral. In fact, they have a tape of the arrest of these two college women as well – and it’s gone viral, and the tape shows an angry, out-of-control police officer going ballistic on two women for a broken tail pipe and because they had the nerve to enter their house. This arrest was pathetic, an embarrassment to Chico PD. The local DA, half senile Mike Ramsey – who is so old now he has become a kind of Strom Thurmond case, is also embarrassment.
Rich Johnson // Sep 18, 2016 at 8:13 pm
I think this college student, Maddy, should hire a civil attorney and sue the City of Chico for this obvious case of false arrest and the fact that Officer Dyke used excessive force. Dyke also violated her civil rights. This officer Dyke who arrested her is clearly lying. He claims he didn’t recognize her from the earlier encounter that evening is a joke. No jury would swallow that – cops are know for their keen observational skills. It’s obvious this officer Dyke had an animus toward Maddy and her friend – because they had mouthed him earlier and filmed him giving somebody a DUI. Later he pulls them over – in front of their own house – for a broken tail light. Geez, you drive 20 years in busy Chico before getting pulled over for that. Broken tail light is the classic Cop profile stop where the cop is looking for something else. Another key variable in this video is the extreme anger Officer Dyke had toward the college women – that was very unusual – cops don’t usually become unglued over a broken tail light stop. Given the women had arrived home it was not unusual for them to get out of the car to enter their dwelling, but Officer Dyke – acting like he had just stopped a pair of bank robbers, orders them back in the car like he was pulling over two members of the Crips. This arrest just stinks at every level, it’s was a total embarrassment for Chico PD. Body slamming a college girl on the ground and slapping cuffs on her for a broken tail light?. The fact that DA Ramsey is prosecuting this is par for the course with him, he’s be prosecuting her if Officer Dyke had got so mad he’s run over the college women her with his police cruiser. Ramsey is a backward, primitive, 1950’s era DA – he’s been DA for 35 years – who gives the cops Carte Blanche to use any kind of force they want, even for something minor. I’m guessing – looking at this obvious case of excessive force – the police report is likely pack of lies, which a good civil attorney could expose pretty easily. From following this case in the papers it’s clear this Officer Dyke has extreme anger management problems, and he also has a thin grasp of civil rights – just looking at the way he “reacted” to being filmed. – slamming a 100 pound women on the cement. Police unions and Police Chiefs all over the USA are fighting having cameras put on the officers – they don’t want this extra added protection for citizens who may be victims of excessive force, as you saw in this case. I am so impressed with these two women standing up for themselves – we have a Constitution – and I hope the City of Chico gets hit with a a big fat law suit. No citizen who excercises their civil right ought to get body slammed for it
TPS // Sep 28, 2016 at 11:28 am
I love pretending I’m a lawyer too. I’m pretty sure our Constitution and Civil Rights don’t permit us to berate police officers and resist arrest.
Rich Johnson // Sep 18, 2016 at 7:25 pm
I think the women who is being prosecuted should start a GoFund me account to raise money for an attorney, she should get the best criminal attorney in town. I will donate some money if she does, I’m sure others would to. Possibly she should hire a civil attorney too to look at the possibility of suing the City of Chico for false arrest. as well. This Chico cop who arrested the Chico student – Dyke – is so obviously lying – in his reports, to his bosses,, to the newspapers – it’s pretty laughable. Officer Pinocchio? I think so. The part about Dyke not recognizing the women who he had interacted with earlier in the night was just such an obvious lie no jury would ever swallow it. Cops, of course, normally have keen observation skills (except when they are lying!). And how about Dykes excuse about pulling the women over because of a broken tail light? Broken tail light? You could drive for 20 years with a broken tail light in Chico and not get a ticket for it, generally. I think what this controversy is showing is that Chico PD has a bully cop on the force who get’s unhinged when he gets mouthed, which is a standard part of the job being an officer. This women got arrested because officer Dyke had an animus toward her due to the earlier encounter, when she – or somebody else had the temerity to videotape Officer Dyke while he was giving a DUI (Cops hate that, as many know) Oh, that was just so terrible. A citizen exercising their constitutional rights! When a cop goes ballistic when he gets mouthed, or when somebody films him – that’s a sure signed you have a stressed out ” Dirty Harry” type in uniform, I think. The fact that Ramsey is prosecuting this college student is par for the course for him, he’d be prosecuting the girl if Dyke had gotten so mad he ran over the women with his police cruiser. Ramsey – who has been DA for 30 years – or has is been 40 years? – is an extremely elderly, backward, primitive, 1950’s era DA, meaning whatever the cops do is okay by him, if they lie in police reports – or brutalize people they are arresting – no problem with that – just as long as he’s get re-elected every four years. I think these two college students stuck up for themselves, they took on a whacked out bully cop. I mean we have a women getting thrown down on the ground for a broken tail light, an obviously phony reason to pull somebody over in busy Chico. The cop’s police report is full of lies, quite obviously. Key evidence has come up missing too, that cell phone. The video of his ridiculous arrest – the tape that went viral – shows the officer conducted himself like a street corner thug – ordering the college women around like they had just robbed a bank. Oh, and the arrest took place in front of their house! I think this whole incident could have been averted if Officer Dyke’s mother had explained to him growing up how important it is to be polite. The arrest was just embarrassing, and our local DA – Ramsey – is an embarrassment too for prosecuting it.