Source: Screenshot
One of four charges against Micah Washington, the Black man seen on video last week being brutally tased by a Reform, Alabama, police officer, has been dropped after it was determined a “drug” he was accused of possessing wasn’t actually a drug.
According to Al.com, the 24-year-old who was confronted by Reform police Officer Dana Elmore while he was changing a flat tire was cleared of a felony fentanyl trafficking charge and is now out of jail on bond. Washington still faces charges of obstructing government operations, resisting arrest and first-degree possession of marijuana, but new details that have emerged regarding the altercation—initially misreported as a traffic stop—make those charges appear questionable to say the absolute least.
As previously reported, a video of the incident shows Elmore leading Washington to her patrol car in handcuffs. The two exchanged words, which prompted the cop to say, “Oh yeah?” and press the taser to Washington’s back while he was face-down on the hood of her car.
Now, your average bootlicker will look at this video and inevitably ask, “Well, what happened before the camera started rolling?” Obviously, it really doesn’t matter what Washington said or did before the recording started, because we can all see he was handcuffed and face-down on the hood of a patrol car when the cop tased him he posed no physical threat to. But even putting that aside, the new details don’t bold well for Officer Elmore.
Again, Washinton was changing a flat tire when Elmore spotted him. According to his attorney, Leroy Maxwell Jr., Washington wasn’t far from his aunt’s house and friends who were with him at the time were going back and forth to the house to get equipment needed to change the tire. If the deep and persistent history of racial profiling tells us anything, it’s that Black people really can’t do mundane things like this without looking suspicious to nosy white people. The confrontation has “Karen meddling” written all over it—only this Karen is a cop.
But because Black people get sick and tired of being accosted by authority figures and wayward white people alike, Washington told Elmore he didn’t do anything wrong and refused to show her his ID when she asked for it. Maxwell said that prompted Elmore to tase his client the first time. (That’s right y’all, the tasing we all saw on video was allegedly the second act of police brutality Elmore committed.)
From Al.com:
Washington pulled out his phone to start recording and Elmore used a stun gun on Washington, which caused him to drop to the ground. He was then handcuffed.
What happened next was caught on the now-viral video recorded by one of Washington’s family members.
The video begins with Elmore, identified through charging documents against Washington, ordering Washington “stand up” after he was handcuffed in the roadway in Pickens County.
She then tells him to lay down on the front of a vehicle, which he does face down.
The officer then holds a stun gun to Washington’s back while she goes through his pockets. She tells him to “stay still” at which point he says, “I ain’t doing shit, bro. I got a gun right there.”
Elmore laughs as she retrieves the gun and says, “Oh yea.”
She then deploys the stun gun directly into Washington’s back, telling him to “shut the (expletive) up” as he screams.
Washington then begins to cry, repeatedly saying, “Oh my God.”
The officer then says, “Do you want it again?” as Washington continues to cry. “Shut your bitch ass up,’’ the officer says.
Setting aside that this appears to be another incident where a Black person gets charged with resisting arrest for not responding well to being arrested for no discernable reason, we have a cop who committed an act of violence against a citizen for pulling out his phone to record her and then committed the same act of violence again while he was handcuffed. Unsurprisingly, Elmore is currently on administrative leave with pay, but, fear not: Reform police Chief Richard Black and Mayor Melody Davis sent out a statement Monday saying they’re aware of the video and an investigation is underway.
“The department is in the process of turning over all materials related to this arrest to the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and has requested a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest,’’ the statement said.
As for the dismissed drug charge, Washington was initially accused of trafficking fentanyl, but 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Andy Hamlin filed a motion to dismiss that charge because, while the field testing of a substance Washington reportedly had in his possession somehow indicated it was positive for fentanyl, additional testing showed it wasn’t. The motion was granted by District Judge Lance Bailey.
Maxwell told Al.com he’s working diligently to clear his client’s name and that he plans to file a $20 million lawsuit on behalf of Washington.
“These occurrences of excessive force happen every day,’’ Maxwell said. “Fortunately, this one was caught on film.”
“We will not stop working until we clear Micah’s name and hold all responsible parties accountable,’’ he continued. “In addition to abuse of force, we have evidence that false criminal charges were created against Micah.”
SEE ALSO:
RIP Jawan Dallas: Family Sues After Unarmed Black Man Tased ‘Until He Died’ By Alabama Cops
Ex-Louisiana Cop Gets Light Sentence For Tasing, Beating And Pistol-Whipping ‘Nonviolent’ Black Man
