Source: Wukela Communications
Alabama police bodycam footage shows a white cop who forcefully entered a Black woman’s home over a noise complaint assaulting her in front of her child after she legally refused to provide her identification. Lawyers for the woman claim the cop reacted like he did because “she called out his racism.”
Twyla Stallworth
According to a press release sent to NewsOne, Andalusia Police Department Officer Grant Barton shoved Twyla Stallworth, 40, in her own home, arrested her and detained her for more than a dozen hours weeks ago in the small town located about 85 miles south of Montgomery. All because she called the cops about a neighbor playing loud music in their yard, lawyers said.
When the police didn’t respond to Stallworth’s multiple calls, she set off her car’s alarm in an effort to show her neighbors what it’s like to have to deal with loud noise. When Stallworth’s neighbor, who is white, called the cops on her to report the car alarm, officers responded and threatened her with arrest if she didn’t stop the car alarm. Her neighbor avoided similar police treatment from his loud music, lawyers said.
Stallworth quickly suggested the inconsistent police responses were motivated by racism, prompting Barton to order Stallworth to produce her identification. When Stallworth retreated into her home, Barton forced his way inside without a warrant and made forceful contact with Stallworth’s son while trying to handcuff her on a sofa.
The footage shows Barton refusing to de-escalate the situation despite pleas from Stallworth’s son, who is audibly distressed as he watched his mother get brutally arrested for not breaking any law.
Still, Stallworth was charged with obstruction, resisting arrest and attempting to elude – charges Stallworth’s attorneys say are not merits given the vitality of the situation.
“Nevermind that Officer Barton needlessly escalated the situation, forcefully entered Ms. Stallworth’s home and physically assaulted her over a noise complaint. Nevermind that he arrested her for exercising her constitutional rights and nevermind that he misquoted a law that doesn’t require a woman in her own home to present an ID,” civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said in a statement. “He was leaving. He was walking back to his car ready to drive away right up until she called out his racism.”
Daniels added: “Calling out racism isn’t illegal. Using your badge to intimidate a 40-year-old mother is.”
Watch the footage below:
If recent history is any indication, Stallworth is lucky to be alive as her police treatment was seemingly the latest instance of an apparent wrongful arrest in Alabama in recent months.
Micah Washington
In December, Micah Washington – the Black man shown on video being brutally tased by a Reform, Alabama, police officer – had charges dropped against him after it was determined a “drug” he was accused of possessing wasn’t actually a drug at all.
The 24-year-old who was confronted by Reform police Officer Dana Elmore while changing a flat tire was cleared of a felony fentanyl trafficking charge and is now out of jail on bond. Washington was still facing charges of obstructing government operations, resisting arrest and first-degree possession of marijuana, but new details that emerged regarding the altercation—initially misreported as a traffic stop—make those charges appear questionable to say the absolute least.
Jawan Dallas
That same month, the family of an unarmed Black man who lawyers say was tased to death by police in Alabama has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Mobile and the two officers involved.
Jawan Dallas’ family is suing for unspecified damages over the alleged “willful, malicious, wanton, reckless and fraudulent conduct,” according to the lawsuit that identifies the officers as John Doe 1 and 2. The two officers and the city are accused of depriving Dallas “of his life and his rights under the United States Constitution.” The lawsuit alleges that Dallas “was accosted, beating [sic] and excessively tased and drive-stun by two members of the Mobile, Alabama Police Department” and that “he was under no suspicion of committing any criminal activity.”
Dallas, 36, died July 2 in Mobile from injuries sustained during the altercation.
Marvin Long
Bodycam video footage was released in May 2023 showing Alabama cops using a police dog to attack an unarmed Black man they were already brutalizing at his home in 2021.
The video footage provided by attorneys shows the officers were aggressive with Marvin Long, 50, from the beginning without ever providing a reason for their presence on his private property.
When Long refused to answer police questions about his property, officers pushed him down onto his home’s front steps before a cop holding the dog’s leash released it as voices can repeatedly be heard imploring the K-9 to “bite him!”
Pastor Michael Jennings
Not to be outdone, in Childersburg, Alabama, a Black pastor was arrested in 2022 while watering his neighbor’s flowers at the request of the neighbor, who was out of town.
Daniels, the civil rights attorney who is also representing Stallworth, said at the time that someone called the police to report a suspicious vehicle that did not belong to Pastor Michael Jennings, which is what he told the cops when they responded.
Similar to Stallworth, when Jennings refused to produce his ID for the police, claiming he had a law enforcement background and knew he didn’t have to show ID to cops on command if he wasn’t committing a crime, officers handcuffed and arrested him and charged him with obstructing government operations.
In a sign of what is likely to happen with Stallworth, the charges against Jennings were dropped the following month.
This is America.
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