DA drops charges against Tatyana Hargrove, the black teen girl mistaken for a large, bald man

In a press conference on Wednesday, Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green announced she is dropping all charges brought against Tatyana Hargrove, who was arrested in a case of mistaken identity on June 18.

Mic previously reported that Hargrove was beaten, bitten by a K9 police and arrested by Bakersfield, California, police officers after they mistook the 19-year-old for a 5-foot-10-inch, 170-pound bald black man with a goatee. Hargrove is only 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds.

After the confrontation, police arrested Hargrove, charging her with resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer. The Kern County District Attorney’s office recently confirmed in an email that Hargrove’s case is set to be formally dismissed in a hearing set for Thursday.

A month after the initial incident, Hargrove’s story went viral after the Bakersfield chapter of the NAACP posted a video of her describing the encounter on their Facebook page. The video now has more than 7.5 million views.

Following the release of the video, Bakersfield Police Chief Lyle Martin called and apologized to Hargrove’s family, saying that the use of the K9 specifically was uncalled for.

“From the policy and technique standpoint, in my opinion, I think we missed on this one in regards to the use of the K9,” Martin said to the Bakersfield Californian. “I think we as an organization are better than this, and if we’re not better than this, then it’s my job to make it better.”

In an interview with 23ABC, Hargrove’s father Craig Reece said while they appreciate the apology and are happy that charges were dropped, the work isn’t over. The family hopes that criminal charges will be brought against the officers involved.

“It eased the pain, but we still have a long way to go,” Reece said.