Newly surfaced body camera footage from Arike Ogunbowale’s March arrest in Miami captures a tense, chaotic confrontation involving Paige Bueckers and several other WNBA and Dallas Wings players. Footage shows a moment when the responding officer aims a taser directly at Bueckers. This new clip has left the basketball community in shock, with two-time Sports Emmy-winning reporter Natalie Esquire expressing her thoughts on these newly emerged details.
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“That Arike video was incredibly triggering. I’m so thankful everyone made it through that safely, physically. Emotionally, I hope they all are okay too,” wrote Natalie Esquire on X.
The 1-minute, 48-second footage shared by the California Post on Tuesday reveals the full scope of the early-morning incident, showing Ogunbowale, teammate Paige Bueckers, and a group of WNBA players, including Jackie Young and DiJonai Carrington, as well as Unrivaled host Maria Clifton, embroiled in the contentious exchange with law enforcement.
The arresting officer appeared in a verbal confrontation with the group before arresting Ogunbowale. The officer took out his taser and told everyone around Ogunbowale to “let her go” and “back up,” while pointing the taser at Bueckers and others’ faces. Paige Bueckers kept an arm around her teammate, telling an officer, “We got her,” before the group ultimately backed away and allowed police to make the arrest.
Clifton can be heard audibly protesting the arrest, shouting, “Stop it. Do not put handcuffs on her. Are you f****** kidding me? She’s a champion.”
While taking her away, when the officer alleged that Ogunbowale was still resisting, the Wings guard pushed back, stating that she wasn’t resisting. As onlookers trailed the pair, the officer reiterated commands for the group to maintain their distance and refrain from stepping forward. Moments later, Ogunbowale expressed her disbelief on the recording.
“What y’all doing? I swear to God, I just f****** won, bro.”
This incident happened at around 4:20 AM on March 5, after Paige Bueckers, Ogunbowale, and others were enjoying a celebratory night out in Miami’s famous E11EVEN nightclub to celebrate Ogunbowale winning the Unrivaled championship with Mist BC.
According to reports, Ogunbowale allegedly punched one of the nightclub’s security members. The alleged victim told responding officers he was attempting to guide Ogunbowale out of the venue following a separate, unrelated altercation. Ogunbowale was taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor battery before she was reportedly released on a $1,000 bond.
However, the charges were later dropped.
“We are pleased that the State Attorney’s Office has exercised its discretion and elected not to move forward with this matter. Ms. Ogunbowale is a person of outstanding character, and we are excited that these charges have been dismissed so she can resume her focus on her professional career,” said Ogunbowale’s lawyer Mitch Schuster, per ESPN.
Paige Bueckers and Co. will hope to put this incident behind them as they prepare for their postseason journey. The Dallas take on the Seattle Storm in their last game of the regular season.