SHENANDOAH — Elizabeth Kim, 40, was arrested on May 21 during a traffic stop off I-45 in Shenandoah. A Montgomery County sheriff's deputy stopped Kim for allegedly failing to use her turn signal and having dim license plate lights. She was later charged with interfering with public duties and resisting arrest.

Bodycam video from the stop shows the deputy yelling commands from a distance shortly after exiting his patrol vehicle. Kim stated, "Please, it scares me so much. I'm so scared." She also said, "I want a female officer. You're scaring me." Kim recounted that she is a rape survivor and does not handle situations with men well. The deputy approached the passenger side window and identified himself approximately four minutes into the encounter. Kim stepped out of her vehicle and called her mother.

The deputy called the district attorney's office to discuss charges while Kim was on the phone. A person on the call responded, "Her on the phone, that's not enough." The deputy placed Kim in handcuffs. Kim later displayed bruises on her inner thighs which she attributed to the encounter.

Dr. Greg Fremin, a retired Houston Police Department captain, reviewed the bodycam video. Fremin said, "That is highly unusual to see a minor traffic violation occur where the officer is screaming, almost yelling commands for the driver to come out and meet him halfway back." He added, "It totally got escalated to the point on his behalf where it did not have to result in this young woman being taken into custody." Fremin stated there was not enough probable cause for the arrest and said, "Looking at this video, this is the exception and not the rule for these officers actions."

A Montgomery County Sheriff's Office spokesperson reported they would inquire with command staff regarding the deputy's actions. The office directed a request for the deputy's personnel records to the attorney general's office for an opinion.