CHICAGO (AP) — A former student is suing an Illinois college alleging two campus police officers used excessive force during a videotaped arrest sparked by her smoking on campus. 
 
 Jaclyn Pazera alleges in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago that two officers forced her to the ground and manhandled her in a philosophy class at the College of DuPage, located in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn. 
 
 "I had two fully grown men on my back pushing me into the ground, and he said in the video, 'If you can talk, you can breathe,'" Pazera said Thursday. "He picked me up and slammed me into the ground harder." 
 
 The lawsuit says the December incident began when Pazera, 27, smoked a cigarette on college grounds. The lawsuit claims Pazera was given a verbal warning regarding the college's smoke-free policy before she returned to class. 
 
 The video shows two officers surrounding Pazera and tipping over the desk with her in it and arresting her. Obstructing a peace officer and resisting a peace officer charges against Pazera were dismissed last month. 
 
 Pazera said she sustained several "recurring injuries" to her wrist and shoulder during the arrest. She also alleges one of the officers used a stun gun to threaten a witness who recorded the scene. 
 
 College spokesman Randall Samborn said college administrators haven't reviewed the lawsuit, but have launched an investigation. 
 
 "Student safety is of utmost importance to us," Samborn said. "Of course, we will investigate to determine the facts and take appropriate action." 
 
 Pazera's attorney, Blake Horowitz, released a video showing the arrest, saying it was shot by a teacher. On it, Pazera can be heard telling officers she isn't resisting and begging them to let her up. 
 
 "She was accosted quickly and was not allowed to get up," Horowitz said. "These two officers surrounded her. She was manhandled by men." 
 
 Pazera said she hasn't attended classes since her arrest. ||||| College of Dupage officers arresting a student (Screenshot) 
 
 Slammed to the ground and manhandled on video, a former student filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court Thursday against two campus police officers for using excessive force and threatening to fire a Taser at another student recording the arrest. Warned for smoking a cigarette outside, the student was followed into the class and arrested for trespassing after showing the cops her student ID. 
 
 On December 7, 2014, Jaclyn Pazera stepped outside during a break between classes with several of her classmates from the College of DuPage to smoke cigarettes. According to Pazera’s lawsuit, Officer Vallardes approached the group and gave them a verbal warning for smoking on campus. After Vallardes asked Pazera and her classmates for identification, Pazera told the campus cop that she had accepted his warning, put out her cigarette, and began walking to class. 
 
 Vallardes called for backup as he followed Pazera to her philosophy class. Accompanied by Officer Tamurrino, Vallardes entered the classroom and shouted at the teacher, “Is that your student?” 
 
 The teacher informed Vallardes that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibited him from revealing the names of his students. When Tamurrino asked for Pazera’s identification, she showed them her student ID with her photo and expiration date visible. Instead of attempting to de-escalate the situation, Tamurrino told Pazera that she was under arrest for trespassing even though she had just shown them her school ID. 
 
 As the officers grabbed Pazera’s arms, her teacher began recording the incident on his cellphone. After knocking over her desk, the officers slammed her to the floor and aggressively handcuffed her as she screamed in pain. 
 
 “Stop resisting!” 
 
 “You’re hurting me,” Pazera pleaded. 
 
 “Stop resisting!” the officer repeated. 
 
 “I had two fully grown men on my back pushing me into the ground, and he said in the video, ‘If you can talk, you can breathe,’” Pazera recalled. “He picked me up and slammed me into the ground harder.” 
 
 After injuring her shoulder and wrist during the arrest, Vallardes allegedly threatened to use his Taser on a student recording the arrest on his cellphone. Vallardes reportedly confiscated the phone knowing that the video recorded on it could be used as evidence against him in a criminal trial. Unbeknownst to Vallardes, the teacher was also recording the incident on his cellphone. 
 
 Although Pazera was initially charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, the charges were dropped 10 months later. On Thursday, Pazera filed a civil rights lawsuit against the college and the two officers for using excessive force during her arrest. Previously unbeknownst to Pazera, cops are often trained to take down people who are not immediately compliant while mindlessly repeating the mantra: “If you can talk, you can breathe.” 
 
 These cops are no stranger to controversy. In an infuriating video from September, two students at the College of DuPage were on campus exercising their First Amendment rights by passing out pocket Constitutions and fliers that read “America is a free speech zone.” They were then approached by a police officer and threatened with arrest – for handing out constitutions. 
 
 “Student safety is of utmost importance to us,” college spokesman Randall Samborn stated after learning about the lawsuit. “Of course, we will investigate to determine the facts and take appropriate action.” 
 
 The College of DuPage has had nearly a year to investigate the assault. Meanwhile, Pazera has not attended classes since her violent arrest. 
 
 This article was originally published at Free Thought Project
– Jaclyn Pazera was sitting in her philosophy class at Illinois' College of DuPage last December when two officers came in, tipped her desk over with her in it, and forcefully arrested her, the AP reports. Her alleged crime: smoking a cigarette on campus, apparently. Pazera filed a lawsuit against the two officers Thursday, claiming they used excessive force—resulting in several injuries—and violated her civil rights, according to Raw Story. The incident started when a campus police officer warned Pazera and a few other students not to smoke on campus. After Pazera declined to provide identification to the officer, he followed her to class and called for backup, the lawsuit claims. What happened inside the classroom was recorded by Pazera's teacher and another student. Raw Story reports Pazera finally did show the officer her student ID after she was confronted by him and a second officer inside her philosophy class. The officers allegedly told her they were arresting her for trespassing anyway, slammed her to the ground, and handcuffed her. Video recorded by Pazera's teacher shows Pazera insisting that she isn't resisting arrest and begging to be let up, according to the AP. The lawsuit claims Pazera was "manhandled" and suffered wrist and shoulder injuries. It also claims the officers used a stun gun to threaten a student recording the incident and confiscated his cellphone. They didn't know the teacher was also filming them, Raw Story reports. Pazera was charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. Those charges were dropped months later. According to AP, the college is launching an investigation.