MIDVALE, Utah — A woman was arrested Tuesday night after public outcry over videos that showed her yelling racial slurs at a family living in her neighborhood.
However, the arrest was not for the verbal harassment, but rather for months-old warrants for various offenses. These included disorderly conduct, property damage, and assault.
The Unified Police Department says the woman — 67-year-old Kathryn Tunison Smith — ripped up the family's garden and forcefully poked the victim's pregnant stomach before pushing her with both hands in the stomach.
Smith was later released on her own recognizance after posting a $1,000 bond.
The family’s attorney says he’s not sure why police chose last night to arrest her, and how effective it will be.
“There have been numerous other things, just little comments, but the stuff that really gets to my clients are the comments to the kids. And that’s the stuff that really gets to me too," said Tyler Ayres.
Ayres is a civil rights attorney representing the family in what he hopes will be a civil lawsuit.
“I believe that she's committed Class-B misdemeanors and civil rights violations," he said. "I think the civil rights violations should be handled by the federal government. There should be an investigation, and anybody else who is involved — and that would include the people that didn't arrest her.”
UPD wouldn’t say why the arrest happened Tuesday night specifically and not earlier, but they confirmed it was for warrants issued in August and September.
Ayres is worried about the arrest leading to possible retaliation from Smith.
“You've watched all the videos, right? I mean, this lady is spiteful," he said.
Ayres said he’s meeting with the FBI on Wednesday.
“Because it's on social media and it's multi-state, then the FBI investigates to determine whether or not this woman and this HOA have violated their civil rights," he said.
The family does not want to go on camera at this time. Ayres said they just want peace and for the alleged harassment to be over.
