NAACP calls arrest of bicyclist in Corvallis an attack on civil rights

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The NAACP called on police and the mayor's office to address the arrest of an Oregon State student on October 13.

Oregon State Police and Corvallis Police stopped Genesis Hansen on suspicion of riding her bike on the wrong side of the road. She was later physically taken into custody when she refused to identify herself to police.

The district attorney declined to file any formal charges against Hansen.

"We are here because there is a systemic problem and we want to see the system changed," said Angel Harris, president of the Corvallis-Albany NAACP. "We will continue to stand and work together to protect the right to just live."

Rev. E.D. Mondaine, vice president of the NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington State Area, also spoke at the press conference.

Afterwards, he visited with Sally McBride, a retired music teacher and 45-year resident of Corvallis.

"Haven't we had enough of this? We are America," McBride said. "We are supposed to show the world equality. I see this as being a slap in the face."

"She was accosted and she was slammed to the ground - you saw the videos," Mondaine said of Hansen's arrest. "We are asking for an apology and we are asking for a direct statement from the mayor's office."

Mondaine said the question is the rights of all people.

"I was moved to great sorrow to see that a - not just an African-American woman was being treated that way, but a young woman would be treated that way. It goes beyond just the civic rights of the African-American woman, it goes to the rights of women all over the country," he said. "The brutality, the aggressiveness - if I was to put it mildly, it would be mind-blowing."

Oregon State Police also released the full body cam video from the incident.