The video shows an officer telling a woman he’s going to break the window if she doesn’t get out of the car, counting down from five before he smashes it. A small child is crying as older kids record while Wake Forest officers pull the woman from the car and arrest her in front of her children.

But the Wake Forest Police Department says the video showing the arrest of Maria Del Carmen Rendon, 35, doesn’t tell the whole story.

According to police, a series of incidents started just after 2:30 p.m. Friday. Police were investigating an assault that allegedly involved a 15-year-old boy strangling a 14-year-old girl.

What You Need To Know

  • A video shared on TikTok shows a police officer breaking the window of a vehicle before arresting a woman in Wake Forest, North Carolina

  • The woman refused to get out of the car, and the officer warned he would break the window, the video shows

  • The woman left the scene of an alleged assault with the 15-year-old suspect. Police say the 15-year-old strangled a 14-year-old girl

  • The woman, 35-year-old Maria Del Carmen Rendon, faces charges of resist, delay and obstruct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor

“As officers attempted to investigate the alleged assault, the male suspect refused to cooperate. A short time later, Maria Del Carmen Rendon became uncooperative and fled the scene in a vehicle with the suspect and three other juveniles,” the department said.

Police said Rendon almost hit an officer with her car, ran a stop sign and almost crashed head-on with a tractor trailer.

Officers pulled the car over but Rendon refused to get out, according to the department and what’s seen on the video.

In the video, shared on TikTok, the officer is heard threatening to break the window unless Rendon gets out of the car. He gives her to the count of five before pulling out his baton and smashing the window. 

The male officer unlocks the door and opens it before a female officer comes into the frame to pull Rendon from the car, the video shows. The officers put Rendon on the ground and handcuffs her.

“While investigating a felony assault, we were forced to react to a situation that was entirely avoidable,” Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard said.

“None of this would have happened had Ms. Rendon not recklessly fled the scene, endangering the lives of her young passengers and motorists in the area, and had she exited her vehicle when officers repeatedly asked her to do so,” Leonard said. “Most of our residents offer no resistance during the calls we respond to, but unfortunately in this case we met resistance at every turn from Ms. Rendon and the male suspect.”

Police charged Rendon with resist, delay and obstruct, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, driving while license revoked and careless and reckless driving. Police arrested the 15-year-old suspected in the assault but did not give a condition for the victim.