Texas police have filed a criminal charge against a black man who was arrested last week while walking home during a snowstorm.
Rodney Reese, 18, was charged with being a pedestrian on the roadway after being stopped by police in Plano. He was on his way home after working at Walmart last Tuesday, reports said.
“There is a lot of information we know about this case that we did not know then. Those officers didn’t know how old he was. They did not know he was 18. They didn’t know 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 bodycam footage of the incident on Friday, stating that agents responded to a welfare check after a caller reported that a black man who “wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts” “tripped” while crossing the walked away amid cold and icy conditions. Reese was found by officers wearing a T-shirt and pants.
Drain said the arrest was inconsistent with the welfare check, which is why agents were called to investigate.
“They should have brought him home, that’s where he should have gone,” he added.
Police said officers were concerned about his well-being amid the cold weather and the possibility that he was in “a mental crisis, delusions or disability,” so they followed him.
‘I’m on my way home. I’m straight, ‘said Reese in the bodycam footage.
“Okay, but you’re in the middle of the road,” one officer replied.
Rodney Reese, 18, is captured on bodycam footage walking home before being arrested by police on February 16
(Plano Police Station)
‘I understand that. My bad, ”Reese replied.
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Officers followed Reese for about two minutes before stopping to tell him they were “conducting an investigation.”
‘I do not care. I’m going home, ”Reese replied.
Officers then informed him that he was being held, according to the bodycam footage. The arresting officer said Reese opposed arrest, but agents chose not to change him, the department said.
“They just treated me like I was a criminal or something,” Reese said in an interview with FOX 4. “Just a simple meeting. A simple meeting. That’s why I tried to avoid it so I could get home, I don’t know. not. “
Reese said he believes he was arrested for being black. Drain said he doesn’t believe race was a factor in the arrest.
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“But I can’t get into people’s hearts, I can’t get into people’s heads,” added the chief.