‘I’m Just Wanting to Find Justice,’ Says Joliet Woman Who Shot Arrest Video

JOLIET, IL — A Joliet woman who shot video of her teenage friend’s arrest said she was nearly brought to tears as she watched him get shoved against a fence and take a punch to his side.

“I wanted to cry,” said Celena Martinez. “That’s how bad they hit and beat him.”

Martinez, 21, said she started recording the cops to show how they treated 18-year-old Dae Roberson when they arrested him Monday.

“I’m just wanting to find justice for my friend,” said Martinez, who accused the arresting officer of police brutality.

The Joliet police did not respond to requests for comment on the video.

Martinez said she, Roberson and others were coming from McDonald’s, where they had gone for ice cream, when the cops descended on them.

“They pulled up on both sides of us,” she said. “They’ve been harassing him for like three days.”

Roberson tried walking away from the cops, Martinez said.

“He walked away and the officer got so mad,” she said. “He put him in a chokehold and threw him against a fence.”

Roberson was booked into the Will County jail and remains in custody on charges of aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting police.

Roberson appeared in court Tuesday. His bond was set at $50,000.

Martinez said Roberson, a student at Joliet Central High School, suffers from asthma and that his inhaler fell to the ground when he was taken into custody.

“His inhaler was on the floor,” she said. “I was like, ‘Give him his inhaler. He needs to breathe.’”

Martinez also said a police officer ordered her to stop recording the incident.

“The cops did make me stop recording,” she said. “That’s why my video is so short.”