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Police near Dallas admitted Monday that they had no justification for arresting a black teenager who was walking home in the snow and who had committed no crime.
Police from Plano were called on February 16 to conduct a welfare check on a man walking in the freezing cold in a short-sleeved shirt at around 10:47 p.m. local time, the department said.
In body camera footage posted to Facebook, officers approached the person, later identified as high school student Rodney Reese, and asked if he needed a ride as the mercury hovered around 18 degrees.
Reese, 18, explained that he was coming home from his shift at Walmart and did not need any help.
“No, I’m fine,” you could hear him say in the pictures. “I do this every night. I’m straight.
Officers told him he was walking down the street and Reese apologized.
Still, officers told him to stop walking and answer other questions. The teenager did not commit.
“We are investigating,” a male officer heard in the footage.
“I don’t care,” Reese replied. “I’m going home!”
“You are officially detained,” said this officer.
Moments later, Reese is arrested and handcuffed.
Officers did not have enough evidence to take Reese into custody and keep him overnight on a pedestrian on the pavement charge, Plano Police Chief Ed Drain said in a statement.
“Our agents were on a welfare call. The arrest was inconsistent with why the officers were there, to provide assistance, “Drain said.” Therefore, we have dropped the charges. “
At a press conference Monday, Reese’s mother said her son works late, serving customers who needed supplies during last week’s winter storm, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
“He probably called the grocery store for some of the wives or families of those officers that night,” Rachel Brown said. “He worked a late shift and was rewarded with a night in jail. For me it eats away at me inside.
Reese said he had acted right that night. When asked why he hadn’t spent more time talking to the police, Reese replied, “I wanted to go home. That’s why.”
“Young black men like me are afraid of the police because they kill us and arrest us,” he continued. “That’s why I didn’t want to answer a question, I wanted to go home.”
The ministry said Chief Drain “has launched an administrative investigation to assess our policies and procedures.”
But it was not clear from the ministry’s statement whether the officers involved had been disciplined or reassigned. A spokesperson for the department referred the questions to the Plano Police Association, but a union representative could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said he hopes “this incident highlights an opportunity for” the police and the black community “to move forward constructively” with “communication and dialogue.”
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