Passenger punched in the face, pulled by his dreadlocks through car window by an Arkansas trooper
By: -----
Blytheville, AR - Dash camera video shows an Arkansas State Police trooper punching and yanking a former UTC basketball player by the dreadlocks after a high-speed chase.
Tedrick Washington Jr., 24, was a backseat passenger during the multi-agency pursuit late Wednesday, August 19.
One trooper said he reached speeds over 140 miles per hour trying to catch up with the car.
Trooper yanks former UTC athlete’s dreadlocks, punches him in shocking arrest after high-speed chase
Blytheville officers deployed spike strips and used the PIT maneuver to stop the car, which eventually came to a rest on a curb in a residential area of Blytheville, Arkansas.
Trooper Theodore Henderson is seen in the dashcam video ordering Washington to crawl out of the baton-smashed window before grabbing and forcefully pulling his dreadlocks while he struggles to open the door.
At one point, Henderson punched Washington on the left side of his face with a closed fist, later writing in his narrative that it appeared the suspect “postured up” as if he was preparing to strike him.
The trooper is seen continuing to pull Washington by the arm and hair through the window until an officer from the Gosnell Police Department came around and pulled him through the semi-opened door.
Out of view of the dash camera, they take him to the ground, where they say he continued to tense up and pull away. The trooper says he struck him one more time when he was not complying with the other officer before his arrest.
Police then charged Washington with obstruction of governmental operations and resisting arrest.
The driver of the car, Adonerus Johnson, tried to flee by crawling through the backseat but was placed at gunpoint, tased, and arrested. He is charged with:
* Driving under the influence
* Speeding more than 15 mph over the limit
* Reckless driving
* Fleeing (felony) vehicle or conveyance
* DWI 1st
* Resisting arrest
* Unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate a felony
* No seatbelt
* Failure to stop at a red light
* Improper passing on the right
The front-seat passenger complied with all commands and was later released by police.
The Gosnell Police Department administration found that their officer’s display of a firearm and hands-on force on Johnson was justified under the department’s policy.