There’s controversy in Midland, Texas after police pulled guns on a man who allegedly ran a stop sign on May 16, and drove to his grandmother’s home instead of stopping for cops. Tye Anders, 21, was charged with evading arrest after police said he continued to drive when they pursued him, according to Marfa Public Radio.
Officials at first balked at releasing the footage.
“We don’t need to prove a point,” Mayor Patrick Payton said. But City Councilman John Norman, the only black person on the council, demanded the release of the footage.
“We know that every second of the video will be scrutinized and debated on social media for days,” he said. ”I don’t have a problem with that at all. Because at my core, I believe that transparency builds trust.”
Justin A. Moore, an attorney for Anders, criticized the mayor’s statement.
“My office, on behalf of Tye Anders and his family, believes any decision made by city leadership in Midland that does not include making video footage from officer dash and body cam available for public viewing is a decision made in bad faith, and is a flagrant lack of transparency,” he said in a May 21 statement.
Response to the Mayor of Midland refusing transparency about why Tye Anders was pulled over, why he and his 90 year old grandmother had multiple pistols pointed at them, why he was arrested, and why he was subsequently assaulted while being in handcuffs.#QTNA #TyeAnders pic.twitter.com/zJD15Eitfi
— Justin A. Moore, ESQ. (@_ja_moore) May 21, 2020
Moore had first released a video of the incident on May 16.
“Recently, he’d been getting pulled over and harassed by the Midland, TX police a lot,” he said. “A dozen officers swarmed his grandmother’s, guns drawn, as if this was a response to a violent offense. It wasnt. As Tye laid on the ground compliant, yet scared, his 90 year old grandmother came out to deescalate this high stress situation by praying for her grandson and officers. That also didn’t work. As the officers approached, they ended up assaulting her and knocking a 90 year old woman to the ground. According to the family, this elder passed out moments after being pushed to the ground. They have taken her to get medical attention to make sure she didn’t experience a stroke, or any other serious complication.”
Police released body cam footage on May 22. They said the “traffic violation” took place before the video system was turned on. Police said that at the home, they gave Anders a verbal directive to step out of the vehicle, then roll down the window. They got no response.
“Step out of the vehicle, man,” said an officer. According to cops, other people approached the seen. The officer told them to step away. By the now, the officer had pulled out his gun.
As seen on video, Anders repeatedly demanded police tell him why they stopped him.
“You ran a stop sign,” said the officer.
The grandmother stepped out of the house to be at Anders’ side. Police approached. The woman fell over. According to the official statement on the video, officers didn’t touch her.
Officers eventually put Andres into a police vehicle.
Anders repeatedly denied running a stop sign. That denial became increasingly more animated as this went on. He “intentionally places legs outside of the vehicle to stop officer from effecting his lawful transport,” which is a crime, authorities said.
Officials said a sergeant grabbed Anders around the head from behind to control his movements, in order to stop him from using his legs to keep the door open.
All told, the police deny wrongdoing. From the department in a statement to Law&Crime:
The subject continued in his vehicle until he arrived at a house located on Pine Street. Once the vehicle was stopped officers repeatedly directed the suspect to exit his vehicle. The suspect refused to cooperate with officers. Upon exiting the vehicle, officers advised the subject to walk towards them to be detained. The subject then stopped and laid on the ground.
During that time an elderly female walked towards the subject and stood next to him. After officers approached the subject and began detainment, the female next to the subject appeared to lose balance and fall.
Moore argues that cops stepped over the line.
After 7 cops hoisted pistols at Tye Anders and his 90 y/o grandmother after following him for miles for no reason, the city of Midland is trying to label him as a felon for the rest of his life because he is afraid of the police…
Let that sink in. #TyeAnders #afraidwhileblack
— Justin A. Moore, ESQ. (@_ja_moore) May 29, 2020
[Screengrab via City of Midland]
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