This video shows the arrest of a
published children's author. She
threatened to sue us if we released it.
We are publishing it because her alleged
conduct is a matter of clear public
interest. She is presumed innocent.
>> I need to go down to the river.
>> Yep.
>> Can you follow me there?
>> Okay, I'll go down to the river with
you.
As officers begin to follow the woman
down the road to figure out what in the
world is going on, she frantically runs
a red light.
>> She just ran the red light. I'm behind
her. I'm going to try to stop her until
she stops driving like
crazy.
STOP!
YOU CAN'T WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
>> CAN YOU please go down to the river?
>> We We are We are Ma'am,
>> You can't be driving like that.
>> Please go down right now.
>> If you cause a crash though,
>> I am telling you
>> you're going to get YOURSELF
>> GET IN THE RIVER RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE GOING
TO OWE ME DEBT.
I HAVE ALL THE POLICE HERE. I'M TRYING
TO GET THEM TO go to see if Peter's in
the river.
>> We're trying. Give us a minute, okay?
You
You can't be driving like that.
>> THIS IS MY HUSBAND'S LOCATION right now.
>> OKAY, HE'S NOT IN THE WATER.
>> HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WATER. YOU
NEED TO GO DOWN SOMEONE GO DOWN THERE
RIGHT NOW. I WILL NOT GET BACK IN MY
CAR. I SWEAR TO GOD. I WILL STAND RIGHT
HERE. BUT GO DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW.
>> I'M GOING NOW.
>> GO RIGHT NOW.
GO DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW, PLEASE. OH MY
GOD.
IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL, OKAY?
OKAY, GUYS. PULL UP.
>> NO.
>> NOPE. JUST STAY RIGHT HERE.
>> 30 30 cars, can I get the male's name,
please?
>> Okay, now he's moving. Can you see? He's
right there. Please, NOW HE'S MOVING.
OKAY? OKAY.
YOU DON'T
UNDERSTAND. I'M JUST WORRIED ABOUT HIS
LIFE. AND HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
RIVER. HE JUST QUIT HIS job 4 hours ago.
We have three little kids. He's very
scared. And when I saw that, he said he
was meeting with his co-worker to try to
get him to come and be a secretary. When
I saw him in the middle of the river, I
was really scared for him.
NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME.
>> SO FAR, I'm going to be down by the boat
docks at the end of Louisiana.
And we're not faulting We're not taking
any way Anything away from this, but you
cannot be
running red lights.
>> I I GET IT.
>> What if somebody hits you and you get
into a really bad accident?
>> I get it. WHAT IF MY HUSBAND'S DEAD? I
DON'T
>> Stop yelling.
>> OH MY GOD.
>> I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE UPSET. YOU DO NOT
need to cause a scene.
>> Where was he supposed to go?
>> Hi guys.
We're looking for a male by the name of
Peter.
Huh?
I don't know. I don't think so. His His
wife is
freaking out. Apparently, his phone is
pinging down here somewhere.
>> You want to go down there with him and
walk around?
Where was he supposed to go?
Supposedly, he's in a suit and a tie.
>> Haven't seen that. No, saw like a
homeless-looking man with a dog.
>> Okay.
>> Saw a woman
with a skanky-looking tank top on go
that way to the bathrooms. Think he
could have used a porta-potty hot left
it dropped his phone over there?
>> Maybe. I'll go look over there. Where's
your license at?
>> I don't have my license on me, okay? YOU
CAN TAKE ME IN. I'M NOT DONE.
>> TURN AROUND. TURN AROUND.
OKAY. ABSOLUTELY
PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK. PUT
YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK.
>> [crying]
>> YOU DID NOT DO THAT.
>> 36, WE HAVE THAT female detective. She
just hit me.
>> Okay. Well,
we're I'm an issue with the wife up top,
so I got to go up there. If you happen
to see anybody in a suit and tie, you
send them our way, please.
>> WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
>> WE ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU.
>> You weren't listening to me.
>> YOU WEREN'T TALKING.
WE TOLD YOU TO STOP. YOU WOULDN'T STOP.
>> I SAID, "PLEASE GO to the river."
>> What do you think HE'S DOING?
HE'S DOWN THERE.
HE'S LOOKING.
>> He was looking at the holes I've ever
met IN MY LIFE.
>> SIT DOWN.
WE GOT HER PHONE STILL?
>> YEAH, IT'S RIGHT THERE.
>> Do we even know who she is?
>> No.
>> No, we don't have her ID yet.
>> Keep uh looking for this gentleman.
>> Her keys are in her purse over here.
>> She said she didn't have her license on
her.
>> No, you're We're over the excuse of now
I'm trying to help your friend.
It's my key fob over there.
>> It's my fob broke.
>> Yeah, cuz I WAS TRYING TO
>> THERE'S NOBODY DOWN THERE. NO VEHICLES
DOWN THERE.
>> SO, her thing is is that this is her
husband. Her husband quit his job today,
has not made any suicidal threats or any
threats that she will tell me. Phone is
pinging in the river. He was supposed to
be at Swig meeting a coworker, which we
tried to tell her he's not there, and
then she took off.
>> It looked like his phone was pinging
moving towards the towards the yacht
club is what it looked like.
>> Yeah, we can continue to look to look
for him.
>> Anything in this parking lot?
>> I haven't checked yet.
>> It was a Denali, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Nothing?
>> Do you guys need me to search her, pat
her down?
>> Yeah, probably. Just give me a minute.
>> I'm going to
>> beyond lost right now.
>> Have we figured out who she is yet?
>> Yeah, which way is she at? Which car?
Hi, what's your last name?
First name?
>> Kristen, k r i s t i n.
>> Unbelievable. Like, you're not going to
scream in face. And then she won't give
any details to the cop. Like, you're
going for a truck safety, but you don't
want to stop to at least talk.
>> like you're insulting us to say, "Hey,
you're this, you're that." You're not
giving us anything to go off of.
>> My husband put his job before his
father and I went to his office and we
helped him get all of his boxes. So, we
were leaving the parking lot when he
instructed that he was going to get
drinks with Jason, someone that he works
with at
Swig, and that he was going to try to
get Jason, who is his assistant, to see
if he would want to come with us and be
his assistant as he started this new
business venture. So, I went home,
making dinner for my kids. I started
getting a really bad feeling and we
share locations with each other so that
we can like know where each other's at
and like if he's not home for dinner.
So, in the middle of the dinner,
I really tried TO SIT HOME, BUT I GOT
DOWN HERE AS FAST AS I COULD BECAUSE
>> SO, YOU haven't talked to him?
>> I kept calling him. He wouldn't answer
my calls.
Literally, I started to have a PANIC
ATTACK WHILE DRIVING HERE AS FAST AS I
COULD AND I THOUGHT, "I'M GOING TO CALL
THE COPS." BECAUSE THEY KNOW ME. SO, I
PULLED up to Swig and I was on the
dispatcher. I TOLD THEM WHAT PETER
LOOKED LIKE and that an officer was
outside. He said, "Is he in there?" And
he goes, "No." And I
told the cop, I'm like, "Please follow
me." He's like, "No, you can't. We need
more information." I'm like, "He's like
straight up
I'm like, "He's like assuming I died."
I'm like, "I CAN'T WAIT. I NEED TO GET
DOWN THERE." THEY PULLED IN FRONT OF ME.
I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING to help me and
I got out of my car and they pushed me
to the ground and they said, "Get in
your Okay. So, you're going to advise me
that you're treating me like a crazy
person. They said, "Get back in your
car." I'm like, "I can't. Can we please
GO DOWN THERE?" AND THEY'RE LIKE, "You
can't. You just ran a red light." I'm
like, "You're not listening to me. My
husband could be in the river." He was
like near like
and then they started telling me that
they're going to cuff me and so I just I
just I just hit him. I don't know. I
just felt like he was
He was being
such a I COULDN'T I WAS LIKE, "PLEASE."
I'm like, "I just want to see." And this
is when I punched him because I was
like, "Can you please try to help us?"
Yes, I said, "I'll stay right here. Can
you please go down and see if my
husband's in the river? He said
something that was so mean that I just I
just
I
MEAN I JUST PUSHED HIM IN THE GARDEN AND
I SAT ON ME. I'M NOT CRAZY. I'M I'm not
I'm not I'm not
>> for the safety of your husband and you
want to find him.
Okay. All right, give me a second, okay?
>> Hello. You Pete?
>> Yeah.
>> How are you?
>> Good. Is everything okay?
>> Well, not exactly. Your wife is in
custody right now. She was worried about
you.
>> She's in custody?
>> Yes. She struck one of the officers
while we were trying to look for you.
>> Oh my god. What happened?
>> We were trying to get some information
out of her about where you were at cuz
your phone was pinging in the river. So
she thought you were
in the river.
So we were trying to find you.
>> Yeah, I was I was literally meeting.
>> Yeah.
So she wasn't listening while we were
trying to
>> she okay?
>> She's okay, yeah. She's just in custody
right now.
>> Okay.
>> Okay, we were trying to find you and
make sure you were okay.
>> I literally just had a wonderful dinner.
I don't I don't know why
>> I So where she at? She's in the in the
patrol car. She's going to be taken to
temporary holding facility here pretty
soon and be booked.
>> Why would she be booked? Just
>> Because she struck one of the officers.
She's under arrest for assaulting an
officer right now.
>> I'm sorry that I have like disbelief on
my face, but like
>> I I mean I don't mean to
>> Yeah, I'm just
>> bring you bad news and
>> I'm just First off, she's okay, though?
>> She is okay, yes.
>> Okay. So like how did she get arrested?
How did you guys even know I was like
here?
>> And she must have given her phone to one
of the other officers. We were using
your location to just find you where
you're at right now.
>> I know. I was sitting in the right at
right over there.
>> Yeah, she said you were supposed to be
at Swig and she couldn't find you at
Swig.
>> Well, cuz it's closed.
>> That was her problem and she was
freaking out because you were your phone
was showing your location
>> Can I answer
>> in the middle of the river.
>> Can I Yeah.
>> Yeah, go Go
>> Copy.
I am at exactly where I was supposed to
be
and I'm I'm talking Yeah, I'm I'm with
two officers. Kristen's arrested right
now. I was sitting at the Fifth Street
Pub.
>> Okay.
All right. All right.
We did because she was out here and we
didn't know where you were at, we did
contact the police where your house is
to make contact make sure your children
weren't just left at home by themselves.
>> like why the location and like why would
like There's Isn't this like just a
misunderstanding? Like do you think that
she was like scared that for my
well-being?
>> Yes, that's exactly what it was. She
>> any way that we could just not have her
booked and arrested? Like is there any
possibility
>> We're past that. We're past that point.
>> I don't know what I don't know what
already happened.
>> Unfortunately, she struck an officer.
She's
So we'll
try to get her, you know, booked and as
quickly as possible.
>> So she's going to be arrested?
>> Yes.
>> I Okay.
>> Just to let you know that your your
phone died. I just set it up there for
you, okay?
>> All right. Give us a few minutes. He's
been located, okay?
You're welcome.
>> Well, if she finds out that he's fine,
she might calm down enough to book her.
>> I told her.
>> Can you and her not see her book her?
Two faces that calm her down. Could you
please? I did bring you a water.
>> Gee, thanks.
All right, Kristen. I'm going to You're
going to come with me. You're going to
go in my car and I'm going to explain to
you what's going on once we get you to
my car. Good with that?
All right.
DID THEY TELL YOU ANYTHING?
>> NO.
>> BUT I'M GOING TO BE THE bearer of bad
news cuz I know you're going to get a
traffic citation.
>> But he's okay, right? My husband's not
in the river. Okay, he's okay.
>> I mean, honestly
go to jail like
>> over by Fifth Street Pub where we found
>> He's okay. He's all right.
>> You're also going to go down to jail,
okay?
>> Okay.
>> You're you're to get booked on a couple
charges. I don't know what they are yet,
but I will let you know shortly.
But they are I believe it's obstructing
and assault on a police officer. So you
can expect that also.
>> Honestly, I don't even remember doing
it. I'm really sorry. By the way, I I
never in a million years imagined that I
would ever ever even be capable of doing
that. I just want you to know that I am
very sorry.
>> So did you say
>> Is there a video footage as far as
evidence of probing me and just
>> Yeah, I mean
>> Really?
>> recorded like so we have body cams on.
We have cameras in the cars. So I am
going to get you down there and we'll go
from there. Okay?
You have any other questions for me?
>> No.
>> All right.
>> Not Not expecting this.
>> I know. I'm
I'm sorry to put this on you. I'm sorry.
Just an unfortunate situation right now.
Okay?
>> Thank you.
>> Yep.
>> Thank you, officer.
>> No problem.
>> After Kristen is transported to jail for
booking, her therapist shows up at the
police department [music] and she's not
happy.
>> Hello, ma'am.
>> Hey, how are you?
>> I'm all right.
>> told you want to speak with the
supervisor.
>> I do. So I don't
that there are practice right across the
street. Kristen
is my client. I got a very distressing
phone call from her. She thought her
husband was in the river. I tried to
call back. Crazy. I was walking my dog
then and I saw the van. I didn't even
know it was her. Clearly she was in
fight flight mode thinking her husband
was dying.
>> Okay.
>> I don't know if that has any kind of
influence at all.
But I will attest to any I got the phone
call. If your spouse you thought was
going down to the river, you would do
anything you could to get down there.
>> Okay. It's an open It's a pending
investigation so I can't say anything
about it right now.
>> Sure.
>> But her actions tonight
is what led to her arrest. Okay? Actions
have consequences.
>> She She hit a police officer.
>> Okay. So I I can't I can't give you any
information on the call. She's going to
jail tonight. She will talk with the
judge tomorrow. If you want a report,
you can come in and you can get a copy
of it. You can ask for for a copy of it.
It's public record. It might not be
complete tomorrow, but you can at least
come down and ask and get that process
going. Okay?
>> Yeah, I'm just going to say
the distress call that I got
>> And I understand she called us and we
were
>> it. I'd swing if whatever I needed to do
if I thought my loved one was in the
river.
>> Okay.
>> It's called fight flight mode. It's
called
Yeah.
This is why I do what I do with first
responders. Every This world needs to
understand
I think something's really wrong here,
but I appreciate you coming out and
talking.
>> Mhm.
Have a good night.
>> About 45 minutes later, Kristen's
husband shows up at the police
department.
>> How you doing, sir?
>> I'm Officer Laura. I'm the officer in
charge
>> tonight.
>> Were you the one that got struck?
>> It was not me. Uh it was one of my other
guys. You know the situation, right? She
was looking for you.
>> Yeah.
>> She's extremely frantic. Wasn't stopping
to talk with us like at all. Calling us
[ __ ] holes, pricks, the works.
We told her she needed to calm down and
kind of explain so that we could get
some information to find you.
>> I was literally sitting here.
>> Down at History Pub, right? Yeah. So, we
we were able to locate you once we we
started pinging your phone. So, at that
point because she's causing a scene and
everything, it falls under what's called
disorderly conduct. So, she's going to
be detained. When my officers went to do
that, she pulled away and she used her
phone and struck my other officer
multiple times in the chest with it.
>> Okay.
>> So,
based on that, she's being charged with
disorderly conduct with persistence and
she's being charged with assault of a
peace officer.
>> Okay.
>> The assault of a peace officer is a
felony. She has to go to jail. We we
don't have a choice on that when it
comes to felonies. We can't just
>> the officer okay?
>> He's all right. I don't know if you guys
like you use Life360 or something. No,
just Apple iPhone. Oh, just Apple
iPhone, okay. It was pinging down by the
river. We get that a lot even if you're
close. For some reason, a lot of times
it pings a little bit farther north.
That's that's where we're at right now.
>> And like you said, there's no way that
she's coming home tonight. She's got
>> Mhm, not tonight. She'll have to meet
with the judge tomorrow before she'll be
let out.
>> Okay.
>> All right.
>> Thank you. Appreciate you. Thanks for
coming out.
>> All right.
>> According to court records, the suspect,
38-year-old [music]
Kristen, was cited for failure to obey
traffic control and subsequently charged
with felony assault on a peace officer,
obstructing official business, and
disorderly conduct. She is presumed
innocent unless [music] proven guilty in
a court of law.
>> as Kristen was in the patrol car and
things settled down, officers were able
to get the information they needed and
locate her husband almost immediately.
And don't get me started on the
therapist. Fight or flight is a natural
response to stress or danger, but it
doesn't excuse yelling profanity,
calling people vulgar names, or
physically attacking someone. We've all
experienced adrenaline, but we don't all
start punching people because of it. A
therapist's job is to help people
develop healthy, non-violent ways of
coping with stress, not defend violent
behavior.
>> After producing this video, the author
had several comments to say to us,
including threatening to sue us if the
video was released.
>> My number should not be tied to this
because there are legal implications
of protecting my family against a video
that was illegally released with
personal information and then
manipulated online without full context
of the story or cops that are actually
under invest- investigation themselves
for how this was handled.
>> Got you. Tell me about what what's the
legal concern? You said lawsuit.
>> This is this is
absolutely grounds for a lawsuit and
you'll be hearing from my lawyer.
>> Okay. What
>> not publish an article about me and my
family about a fake video online.
>> Okay, so
>> ago.
>> The video is fake. What's fake about the
video?
>> It is clipped together. Oh my god, you
got to be kidding me. I'm You're going
to be hearing from my lawyer.
>> Okay, and is there anything that's