Aaron Goodson said he was riding a light-rail train near Main Street and Country Club Drive on Feb. 20 when officers from the Mesa Police Department's Bike Squad boarded looking for fare dodgers. As officers questioned a 16-year-old passenger about whether the teen had paid, other officers entered the car where Goodson was sitting.

"When I reached into my pocket to grab my transit pass, [the officer] noticed I had marijuana on me at the same time," Goodson said. He told investigators the joint was not lit, but officers wrote in their report that he was smoking on the train and removed him from the car.

Body-camera video from the platform shows the encounter escalating rapidly. Officers told Goodson to sit down. After he said he hadn't done anything, an officer responded, "Sit the f*** down, right now." Within seconds, officers forced Goodson to the ground and used pepper spray. Several officers punched him, and about 40 seconds into the incident, one officer deployed a Taser.

"I'm literally just wondering, please God, let me get out of this. Let me figure it out. Just gonna sit here and just take it. And that's what I did until they were satisfied," Goodson said.

Officers wrote in their reports that Goodson repeatedly resisted by tensing his body and keeping his hands underneath him — an account Goodson denies. "How much compliance should I have given them? Because I had exited the train. I was already emptying out my possessions. I was going to produce proof I had paid for my train trip," he said.

Policing experts who reviewed the video and reports for a local investigation offered mixed assessments. Lon Bartel of Verstand Tactical Consulting, a police training consultant, said he saw no indication that Goodson used active aggression or assault. Asked whether the level of force was necessary, Bartel said officers must make decisions in "tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situations," and that force can be "not necessarily was necessary, but in that moment it was reasonable."

Marc Evans, a retired Los Angeles police lieutenant, supported the officers' version of events. "I really have no harsh critique of what the officers did in this case because, at the end of the day, Aaron was not complying with their instructions," Evans said.

Valley civil rights attorney Benjamin Taylor reached a different conclusion. "They used extreme, excessive force in less than a minute for a simple light-rail violation," Taylor said, adding that officers should have taken steps to de-escalate given the minor nature of the alleged crime. "More communication was needed here. Walk them off and just say, 'Have a nice day.'"

Goodson was booked into jail and charged with four misdemeanors: theft of services for the $2 fare, trespassing, resisting arrest, and interfering with officers. Court records show Mesa city prosecutors later dropped all charges.

The Mesa Police Department declined an interview request, but a spokesperson said in an email that an internal review determined the officers followed department policies and standards.

Goodson said he still worries about running into the officers again and wants the community to know what happened. "Would they want that to happen to their family members or their children?" he asked. "They're public safety officers. Where is the safety for the public?"

"I just didn't want this to just be swept under the rug like any other case," he said. "The minute I give up, they win."