Body camera footage has now been released showing Hope Solo’s arrest in March. It shows the former soccer star refusing to cooperate with police as her two 2-year-old children cried in the backseat.
It all went down in a Walmart parking lot in March where officers found Solo asleep behind the wheel of a GMC Yukon, with the engine still running. She informed the officer she had pulled over to “take a nap” because she was tired.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, police officer A.J. Sereika suspected Solo might be drunk and asked how much she had to drink. She denied having any alcohol that night. She then proceeded to make a call during the encounter with police.
“Hey, love. I have a police officer … yes, I know I had pull over because I’m really tired,” Solo said on the phone as the officer waited outside her rolled-down window for her to present her driver’s license. “So, I pulled over but there’s a police officer here right now so I’m going to record this. Yeah, I know, love …”
Solo continued on the phone: “I was just trying to take a nap because I’m so (expletive) tired from driving. Yeah, I … I mean, I pulled over in a Walmart parking lot to take a nap. I have no idea why he’s here, but hang on.”
Winston-Salem police officer G.J. Mager would come to the scene and be informed that Solo was likely drunk. Sereika asked for Solo’s driver’s license before heading back to his car to run it.
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Mager and Solo could be heard arguing over her sobriety while her children cried in the back. Mager is heard asking Solo to step out of the vehicle before he had to pull her out.
“Step on out or I’m pulling you out,” said Mager.
Mager grabbed Solo’s left arm and pulled her out of the SUV while she asked to call her attorney.
“You’re not calling your attorney – anyone right now,” Mager told Solo. “Right now, the two things you’re going to do is you’re going to stand here. Do you consent to providing field sobriety tests?”
The body cam footage would end after Solo refused sobriety tests and officers attempted to handcuff her.
The former United States women’s national team goalkeeper pleaded guilty in late July. Solo was charged with a DWI, a misdemeanor child abuse, and resisting a public officer.
