D.C. police say they are now conducting an investigation after video of an arrest Thursday night in Southeast has drawn outrage from a D.C. Council member, who says he believes it shows excessive force.
The video, uploaded to Twitter on Thursday night by an ANC commissioner, shows a D.C. police officer flinging a man over top of a metal fence and then bringing him to the ground during an arrest Thursday night.
The man, identified as Ty’Jon Jackson, 23, can be heard crying out in pain. A few seconds later, another man, identified as Tejuan Coleman, 30, approaches officers. A scuffle ensues, and at one point it appears one of the officers kicks toward the ground where Jackson is still lying.
“This incident was totally unacceptable on so many levels,” council member Trayon White said during a news conference Friday. “You can … clearly see aggressive use of police force through the video. I’m going to say on record, I do not know what transpired before. But it’s totally unacceptable for a police officer we pay our tax dollars to — to protect and service us — to treat us in that manner.”
(Editor’s note: The video contains language and images that may be upsetting to viewers.)
I just got this video of possible excessive force. Please investigate @fox5dc @nbcwashington @wusa9 @Perris_J @RamirezReports @KolbieReports @MegMRivers @margaretbarthel @JessArnoldTV @jmooreDC @shomaristone @darcyspencer @AnnaLysaGayle @deliangoncalves @7NewsDC @SamFord7News pic.twitter.com/ek3NSRXPXV
— Salim Adofo (@salimadofo) October 21, 2022
In a statement, D.C. police said officers showed up to investigate the sound of gunshots in the 3400 block of Stanton Road in Southeast around 9:30 p.m. Thursday. While canvassing the area, officers came across an unoccupied car with the motor running and a visible bullet shell casing inside. Police said the car was later confirmed to be stolen. Eventually, a group of people approached the officers while they were searching the vehicle.
Police allege Jackson threatened to smack a female officer on the scene. In an affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court, police claim Jackson “stated something to the effect of ‘I’ll f—this b—- up.'”
In response, an officer “pushed the male against a fence and took him into custody,” the police statement went on to say.
Both Jackson and Coleman were arrested. Jackson has been charged with threats to do bodily harm to a police officer and, following an appearance in D.C. Superior Court Friday, was released on home confinement. Coleman, who has was charged with assault on a police officer, was released on his own recognizance.
Both men are due back in court Nov. 18.
“The investigation into the totality of the incident is currently underway,” the statement from D.C. police said. The use of force is under review by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
During his news conference Friday, council member White said he spoke with both a D.C. police commander and D.C. police Chief Robert Contee, and that he doesn’t “totally agree” with the statement released by D.C. police “based on what [he] saw.”
“Over-policing is not necessary. If a guy threatens a female officer, he does not deserve to be kicked in his upper body or face, right,” White said. Relating his conversation with Contee, White said, “MPD’s posture is that the gentleman was releasing his foot … but I didn’t see it as such.”
White added, “My hope is that these officers are under review and terminated if they’re wrong, based on what we find in the internal affairs review … We haven’t seen the body camera footage yet, but I’ve seen enough.”
Coleman’s mother, Aminah Saladin, also spoke at White’s news conference. She described a very different series of events leading up to her son’s arrest than the police affidavit.
Saladin said her son was in the area Thursday night to pick up his girlfriend when he saw Jackson, his friend, on the ground being arrested.
“As he walked up, he was maced in the face,” Saladin said. “And it looked like he tripped. And as he tripped, the officers pounced on him.”
“I was horrified as a mother,” she said. “I couldn’t believe what I saw. Who will protect and serve our community?”
She also said her son wasn’t immediately taken to the hospital even though he complained of pain in his hand.
Nee Nee Taylor, with the community organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, said her group would be legally supporting both men.
“I don’t feel the police have a right to put their hands on me because I say ‘I’m gonna slap you,'” Taylor said.
WTOP’s John Domen contributed to this report.
