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An officer with the Reform Police Department was caught on video tasing a Black man in the back while he was handcuffed on the hood of a police car.
In the video the Black man, identified as 24-year-old Micah Washington, is led to a police car by a white officer during a traffic stop on Dec. 2. The officer, a woman, then tells Washington to lay down on the hood of the police car while he is noticeably handcuffed.
Once he lays down, she points her taser or stun gun into Washington’s back and says, “stay still.” Washington then states, “I’m not doing sh*t, I got a gun right there,” as the officer removes the gun and says, “oh yeah.”
Washington questions why the officer gleefully says, “oh yeah,” and is then tased in the back by the officer. Washington screams, “oh my god,” while wailing in pain and the officer tells him to, “shut the f*ck up,” two times. As Washington begins to cry the officer then asks if he “wants it again”.
She then tells Washington to, “shut the f*ck up,” and “shut your b*tch ass up,” before the video clip ends.
The officer involved has been reportedly put on administrative leave. Washington has been charged with resisting arrest, marijuana possession, obstructing governmental operations, drug trafficking and possessing a firearm as a felon.
The Reform Police Chief Richard Black and the Mayor Melody Davis released a joint statement regarding the video which has now been shared and viewed thousands of times.
“The department is in the process of turning over all materials related to this arrest to the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and has requested a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest,’’ the release stated.
According to WVTM Jalexis Rice, Washington’s girlfriend, only could cry while watching the officer tase him.
“When I seen it, I couldn’t do nothing but cry,” Rice said. “I couldn’t do nothing but cry.”
Rice explained that Washington and two other individuals were changing a car tire when the officer in the video pulled up on them. The situation then escalated and led to the events in the video.
People in the community including Washington’s family and friends have already begun protesting and demanding accountability for what happened to Washington.
