Lindsey Ogbonna and Shannon Williams said they'd been invited to swim at an apartment complex where their friends live. Never did they anticipate what happened later, an encounter that was recorded and has now been shared hundreds of times on social media.
Before the chaos broke out they said the man seen in the video wearing plaid shorts and an orange t-shirt approached and started to ask them questions.
"We realized someone come up and ask us 'who lives here' and stuff. So we let him know who lived here and who didn't. You know, we were obviously just guests to the person," said Ogbonna.
The women, all students at Stephen F. Austin University, said they asked questions in return.
"And that's when we were like 'okay so who are you?'" said Williams.
They said the man never identified himself as a police officer before getting into a police cruiser and confronting the group once again.
The Nacogdoches Police Department confirms the man in the video is a police officer who also serves as courtesy officer for The Overlook apartments.
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A spokesman with the police department said apartment management instructed the officer to lookout for trespassing and criminal activity, and that he approached the group under suspicion of trespassing.
Ogbonna and Williams said they were doing nothing wrong. The Nacogdoches Police Department tells NBC 5 many from the group ignored the officers orders to stay put after he'd called for backup.
"He would not let me go. He was dragging me across the concrete," said Williams.
Ogbonna added, "I feel like he may actually hurt me. I'm in a bikini suit. I barely have any clothes. I don't understand what he was doing."
In a statement police said, "Transparency is of the utmost importance to the Nacogdoches Police Department. Several concerns have been expressed by the community members affected and we are committed to continuing conversations with all involved."
Williams said she will never be the same following this experience.
"It broke me down. I ain't gonna lie. It changed me and I'm going to keep saying that. It changed me for the rest of my life."
Both women have been charged with resisting arrest and assault on an officer. The officer was taken to an area hospital for treatment and later released.
Both Ogbonna and Williams have retained legal counsel and said they plan to file a complaint.
