THP responds to claim that trooper hit protestor with their car
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) has released dashcam footage from this weekend’s anti-ICE protest in Memphis to address and refute claims that a state trooper struck a protester.
The video shows a man stepping into the roadway as a trooper was maneuvering through traffic and protesters. After briefly blocking the vehicle’s path, the man moves to the side and returns to his vehicle.
THP said the footage was released to clarify what it called “false” accusations that an individual had been hit by a trooper during the protests.
In a statement, THP said: “We respect and protect the right of people to protest peacefully. That right, however, does not include entering active roadways or placing themselves in danger.”
The agency added that its priority is public safety for all involved — motorists, protesters and its troopers.
But the vice president of a local social justice organization says that the video that THP released does not paint the entire picture of what happened.
“It’s not surprising that they released a selected clip of what they claim transpired,” said Tyler Foster, the vice president for the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action, or MICAH. “The reality is that there is a lot more to the story. A lot more video footage, and we have been calling on them to release that video footage.”
Foster said he was at the protest, and it only escalated when THP arrived right as the protest was about to end.
“…Strikes a safety marshal and a participant. Then it appears to me that the vehicle, this is the woman who was taken into custody,” said Foster, showing Action News 5’s Michaela Redmond video from the protest. “Based on how she moves her foot, [it appears] that the vehicle may have run over her foot.”
The woman who was arrested during the protest has been identified as Rebecca Ann Leathers.
Troopers say Leathers stood in front of a Tennessee Highway Patrol vehicle as officers tried to maneuver through the crowd and struck the vehicle’s windows. Police say she would not cooperate during her arrest and became violent.
But Foster says she was peacefully protesting.
“When THP aggressively showed up, and drove into the crowd, and got out and snatched [Leathers], who was peacefully protesting and threw her in the back of the patrol car, brandished their tasers, shouted at people, advanced aggressively toward people, that naturally escalated the situation,” said Foster.
Leathers was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting official detention and additional charges.
It’s unclear at this time whether the man seen in the dashcam footage is facing any charges.
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