A video of an early July arrest resurfaced and has gone viral. The video, which shows two Mississippi patrol officers forcibly arresting a Black man by choking and slamming him, has sparked outrage.
Though there is no word on when the actual arrest was made, two videos showing the interaction between Tupelo, Mississippi residents Robert Morton, his pregnant fiance Porsha Shields, who took the video, and two Mississippi officers was posted to Facebook on July 15 by Laquisha Cummings and has gained over 2 million views and countless comments; though some thought the arrest took place in Texas.
The first video begins with Morton and Shields already outside of the car after they, along with another driver were pulled over, their four-year-old son still in the car. Shields asked, “why are you taking him to jail?” When Morton finally appeared in the video, there was a brief struggle as he tried to get away from a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer, who has been identified as Brandon Barry by a Facebook user. Morton asked Barry repeatedly what he did. Barry then told him to get on the ground and Morton asked Barry again to tell him what he did wrong.
As Morton continued to refuse to be put in handcuffs, Barry finally told him that he was pulled over for speeding at 101 miles per hour when the speed limit was 65, which Morton denied. Barry also said that he would be charged with speeding as well as failure to identify, but Morton asserted Barry did not tell him what his charges were when he was pulled over.
“You asked for my license before you even told me what you pulled me over for,” Morton said.
Barry confirmed his account, but continued to insist Morton put his hands behind his back. Obviously growing increasingly frustrated, Morton continued to resist being put in handcuffs and Barry told him he would also be charged for resisting arrest. After a brief tussle, Barry pulled out his taser, but Morton kept his hands in the air and decided to wait for Barry’s back up to discuss the charges against him.
The second video, which has been more widely shared, showed part of the first video, but the second video showed the arrival of the second officer, who was identified as James Scott. When Barry’s back up arrived, Morton’s back was against the bumper of his car. Scott asked no questions and was immediately aggressive.
“Put your hands behind your fucking back!” Scott demanded. He then wrapped his hand around Morton’s neck and slammed him against the car. Barry and Scott then wrestled Morton to the ground as Shields repeatedly screamed, “y’all don’t have to do all that!”
After Morton was detained, Shields was then targeted and said that when she told the officers that she was pregnant, they became even “more aggressive.”
“I truly felt that I should have never told him I was pregnant because it seemed like he became more aggressive,” Shields said. “And, what hurts the most is knowing that my four-year-old son witnessed me screaming, crying and getting assaulted as this event will psychologically impact us forever.”
Journalist Joy Reid retweeted the video and wrote, “This is so hard to watch, OMG…”
Other users expressed their frustration with police treatment of Black people.
https://twitter.com/MaryMarch3/status/1156245060691906560?s=20
According to The Daily Mail, Morton was charged with speeding, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, seat belt violation, failure to provide identification and a $35 fee for breaking the cop’s whistle. Shields was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The couple was released the same day as the arrest.
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