The arrest of university student Emily Lang went viral this week after she was recorded biting, hitting and kicking Prince George’s County Police officers April 26 outside of Cornerstone Bar and Grill — actions she said were all in self-defense.

Lang, 21, was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct after she was taken away by Prince George’s County Police at about 2 a.m. that day. But Lang said she has not been given any details about her arrest and did not know she had been charged with any misdemeanors until a Diamondback reporter asked her about it last night.

The video, which was recorded by a bargoer and posted on YouTube shortly after the incident, shows Lang, a junior agricultural resources and economics major, biting one of the bar’s bouncers after he attempted to detain her and repeatedly trying to kick a county police officer in the groin during her arrest.

Lang was handcuffed and placed in the front seat of a police cruiser, at which point she managed to escape from the handcuffs that bound her and gave the middle finger to the crowd of people that had assembled after her initial arrest, the video shows. Upon seeing that she had wiggled out of her confines, police pulled her out of the front seat and attempted to detain her again. Lang grabbed onto the trunk of a nearby tree to avoid being arrested — an act that is depicted in the video recording.

After loosening her grip on the trunk, county officers tied Lang’s legs with a Ripp “hobble strap,” traditionally used to restrain the legs of arrestees who display threatening behavior or are trying to escape police custody.

Prince George’s Police spokeswoman Misty Mints said this act is only used in severe situations.

“There were all indications and reasons to use the strap,” Mints said. “She displayed all of those characteristics.”

But Lang said the police’s actions were out of line.

“I had bruises all up and down my body, arms, legs, everything,” Lang said. “I am a cooperative person, and when they tried to tie me up, I told them I would be cooperative. But they were whipping me around. They’re a lot bigger than me, and I felt like I was in danger.”

Lang said she was told by her friends and those who witnessed the confrontation that the scuffle with police began when she broke a window — an action she does not remember.

“They said that I broke a window but I don’t recall doing it,” she said, noting it was not clear if the window she allegedly broke was one of Cornerstone’s. “I don’t think I did that, I hate the sound of broken glass, it scares the crap out of me. If I did it, it was never intentional.”

Mints did not specify if the incident began with a broken window or not.

Lang said although some of the details are blurry, she vividly remembers feeling like she was in danger. But police said everything they did was necessary.

Mints said the video, which has been linked to by several blogs after being posted on YouTube, will be used against Lang in court. But the junior said she doesn’t know when her court date will be, as she has not received any charging documents.

The state’s court records website had no court records last night for this incident. However, Lang was issued a citation for drinking an alcohol beverage in a prohibited place April 23, the website shows.

Many who have watched the video agree with the methods used to arrest Lang.

“The police tried every nice possible way to contain her and she wouldn’t stop kicking and screaming,” sophomore criminology and criminal justice major Kenny Sheain said. “I’m all for hog-tying that drunk girl up.”

Raghav Ahuja, a sophomore finance major, agreed.

“The people I watched it with were talking about how this just reinforces the reputation of police brutality in College Park, but I didn’t think that was the case,” Ahuja said. “She was being extremely difficult to deal with and I don’t think there was police brutality involved in this case at all.”

Ahuja added that incidents like this are to blame for the constant cycle of closing bars on Route 1.

“This is just another reason why we keep losing bars, because of stuff like that, which can be easily avoided,” he said. “Her friends should have been there to control her and not let her get to that point. It’s sad that she didn’t have anyone to help her.”

Lang noted the incident could have been prevented if someone had helped her. She was not celebrating her 21st birthday, as the narrator of the web video claims.

“If you ever see someone in that position, do the Good Samaritan thing,” she said, crying. “If I had one of my friends out there, this wouldn’t have happened. If you ever see someone in danger, even if you don’t know them, just go help someone who can’t help themselves.”

egan at umdbk dot com