Shocking police bodycam footage shows a screaming woman being attacked by fire ants as her face was held to the ground during her arrest, a lawsuit claims.
The painful biting incident occurred in 2021 when the accuser, Taylor Rogers, was arrested by Santa Fe police.
According to the lawsuit, Rogers was driving with her son when an officer began yelling at her to stop. According to court documents, Rogers panicked because officers pounded on her vehicle and pointed their guns at her, and she accidentally went the wrong way.
That’s when Santa Fe Police Sergeant Ruben Espinoza struck Rogers’ car, according to the lawsuit. Another officer, Officer Christian Carranza, arrived on the scene and reportedly became aggressive toward Rogers.
On Saturday, Rogers’ attorney Randall Kallinen described what his client said happened at the scene during a news conference.
A woman covered in bug bites is suing the city of Santa Fe, Texas, after she claims local police handcuffed her and pushed her face into a bed of fire ants
The incident occurred in 2021 when the accuser, Taylor Rogers (pictured), was arrested by Santa Fe police.
Pictured: Insect bites covering Rogers’ neck and face, which she said resulted from her encounter with police
“Taylor Rogers was stopped for no reason by Santa Fe police, thrown to the ground in a bed of fire ants in the middle of the day, and then held there screaming,” Kallinen said.
The bodycam footage was shared with the local CBS affiliate I LOVE shows Rogers screaming and begging for help as the ants crawled over her face and started biting her.
‘Ants are on my face, ants are coming on my face. Please help,” Rogers shouted at Caranza. ‘How could you do all this? There are ants on my face, please let go.”
According to court documents, Caranza allegedly twisted Rogers’ legs and tied her up, and she was unable to wipe the ants from her face or body. She claimed the officers didn’t bother to help her sweep the ants away or move her to another location.
The aggressive ants bite people who get too close and inject them with a poison that causes a burning sensation and from which they get their name.
Fire ant stings can even be fatal for people with certain medical conditions. In 2023, Georgia mother Cathy Weed, 43, was killed by an allergic reaction after stepping on a fire ant hill at her home.
‘Is it torture? Yes, that’s a strong word, but I call it torture,” Kallinen said. “If the police hold you in a fire ant bed and you say ‘fire ants’ and scream, and they hold you there, what is that?”
To make matters worse, Rogers said the ordeal took place in front of her 9-year-old son, who was in the backseat of their car.
The police have a different story and defended their actions.
Espinoza said when he tried to stop Rogers, she became enraged and tried to drive illegally into the parking lot of her son’s school.
She then ignored him and drove to the back parking lot. Then Caranza got involved.
‘When she [the officer] gave the description of the vehicle, I knew immediately who it was. So I approached the intersection and saw Miss Rogers fleeing,” Espinoza said. “She also passed a vehicle in the grassy area on the right when I tried to stop for her. She didn’t put her car in reverse and ran from me.”
Espinoza then said he used his police car to stop Rogers. Cornered, Rogers was pulled from the car by other Santa Fe officers and placed in handcuffs.
Police shared footage of Rogers’ arrest and pointed out that there were no fire ants or ant farms in sight.
They also claimed that the bodycam footage was misleading and that Rogers was actually treated with “respect and dignity.”
The bodycam footage shared with local CBS affiliate KHOU shows Rogers screaming and begging for help as the ants crawled across her face and began biting her
At a news conference Saturday, Rogers’ attorney Randall Kallinen (pictured) said what happened to his client at the scene was a form of “torture.”
Rogers (pictured) is now suing three years later, asking that the two officers be held accountable, and that the Santa Fe Police Department undergo proper de-escalation training.
“They stopped the clip they gave you. The officer says, ‘Just relax and we’ll pick you up,'” Espinoza said. “At that point she said, ‘Okay, I’ll calm down,’ and they picked her up immediately.”
Espinoza said Rogers pleaded guilty to fleeing police, while Kallinen said she was convicted of deferred adjudication.
Rogers is now filing a lawsuit asking that the two officers be held accountable, and that the Santa Fe Police Department undergo proper de-escalation training.