A local protester is telling her side of the story after Miami's chief of police gave his account of what happened when she was arrested during a demonstration in Downtown Miami.
Norah Fahmy's July 15 arrest near the Torch of Friendship was captured on video and angered fellow activists.
“On that day, I had no intention of getting arrested," the 22-year-old University of Miami engineering student said.
Fahmy has never been arrested prior to these protests, but now she's been arrested a total of four times. Two of her cases have been dropped, she says.
Her arrest went viral - prompting a Twitter response from Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina.
"It has come to our attention that there is a video circulating that has gone viral of a protester who is claiming that she was arrested for no reason," Colina said.
Fahmy acknowledges what Miami police pointed out in the video -- she and other protesters stood in front of traffic on Biscayne Boulevard.
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“We did go on the road for a few minutes ... and the second police pulled up to tell us to get off the toad, I personally was already on the sidewalk," she said.
Fahmy says she listened to police because she was already arrested two days prior -- shown in video released by police -- this time it was an arrest she was expecting.
“The body cam footage released on the four-month anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death, we made it a point to have all females stand in solidarity with her, holding signs," she said.
Colina says arrests like these could prevent the department from responding to other serious calls.
"It's quite simple, if you want to be arrested, we will accommodate you," he said. "If you don't and you truly want to protest peacefully, we’re thankful."
