Newly released police bodycam footage revealing tense moments surrounding track star Sha’Carri Richardson’s recent arrest at an airport has gone viral. Richardson was taken into custody after she was caught on camera physically assaulting her boyfriend, fellow Olympic sprinter Christian Coleman.
The video shows Richardson visibly agitated at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while being addressed by police. She repeatedly demands, “What am I under arrest for?” despite officers informing her of the charges. From the start, she denies assaulting Coleman, telling police the two had only been arguing. Surveillance video, however, shows her shoving him several times.
According to police, the initial report came from a TSA agent who claimed to have witnessed the incident. While Coleman told officers there had been no physical altercation, Richardson believed he had accused her and reacted strongly, calling him a “liar” and a “coward” for involving the police and insisting she had evidence on her phone showing him assaulting her.
“We were arguing. I didn’t assault him. I didn’t do anything wrong,” she told officers. “But the fact that you guys are doing this to me and he is the man in this situation…” Richardson maintained that while the footage might appear incriminating, her own evidence would prove otherwise.
As she was escorted away in handcuffs, Richardson blamed Coleman for getting her arrested and announced her intention to press charges against him. She later told police she could prove she was in a “domestic violence relationship”.
While shifting between frustration and pleas for understanding, she continued to stress that the confrontation was nothing more than a verbal argument. Still, her claims directly conflicted with the video evidence reviewed by officers at the scene.
Police in the footage appeared calm, methodically explaining the legal process and the reasons for her arrest. The new video has sparked a new wave of backlash aimed at Richardson.
