Texas police dropped the misdemeanor charge against a black man who was arrested last week while walking home during a snowstorm.
Rodney Reese, 18, faced the charge of being a pedestrian on the highway after he was stopped by police in Plano. He was returning home after working at Walmart last Tuesday, according to reports.
“There is a lot of information that we know about this case that we didn’t know at the time. Those policemen did not know their age. They didn’t know he was 18. They didn’t know that he worked at Walmart. They didn’t know where he lived, “Plano Police chief Ed Drain told FOX 4 of Dallas / Fort Worth.
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WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
The department released camera footage of the incident on Friday, which said police officers responded to a welfare check after a call reported that a black man “wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts” was “stumbling” while walking down the road in cold and icy conditions. Reese was found by police officers wearing a T-shirt and pants.
Drain said the arrest was not consistent with the social security check, which is why police were called in to investigate.
“They should have taken him home, that’s where he should have gone,” he added.
According to the police, the police were concerned about his well-being in the cold and the possibility that he was “in a mental crisis, delusional or debilitated”, so they followed him.
“I’m coming home. I’m straight,” Reese said in the footage from the body’s camera.
“Okay, but you’re walking in the middle of the road,” replied an officer.
Rodney Reese, 18, is captured on a body camera walking home before being arrested by police on February 16
(Plan Police Department)
“I understand that. My bad,” Reese replied.
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The officers continued to follow Reese for about two minutes before stopping to tell him that they were “conducting an investigation”.
“I don’t care. I’m going home,” replied Reese.
The police then informed him that he was being detained, according to footage from the body camera. The police officer who arrested him said Reese had resisted arrest, but police officers chose not to change him, according to the department.
“They treated me like I was a criminal or something,” Reese said in an interview with FOX 4. “Just a simple date. A simple date. That’s why I tried to dodge, so I could go home, no know. “
Reese said he believed he was arrested for being black. Drain said he did not believe that race was a factor in prison.
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“But I can’t get into people’s hearts, I can’t get into people’s heads,” added the boss.