October 3rd 2023.
Le’Keian Woods, a 24-year-old black man, was allegedly punched, pinned to the ground, and tossed around “like a rag doll” by police officers after fleeing a traffic stop. Police body camera footage released on Monday showed officers throwing blows to Woods’ face and appearing to cause his face to bleed.
The video shows a person fleeing and an officer radioing, “We’ve got one running”. Another officer pursuing Woods yelled, “You are f***ed up” and threatened to Taser him. He then used the weapon, and Woods fell face down on the street. The officer then hit Woods in the face twice, and ordered him to put his hands behind his back.
Another detective knelt on Woods’ head, demanding he put his hands behind his back. The detective said he “delivered four knee strikes to the upper shoulder area, targeting the shoulder muscle to gain compliance of Le’Keian’s left arms”, according to an arrest report obtained by NBC News. The detective added that “there were unintentional knee strikes to Le’Keian’s face during the struggle”. The lawyer for Woods’ family, Harry Daniels, noted that the video showed cops “slamming his head in the ground and tossing him around like a rag doll”.
Woods was hospitalized and suffered a severe concussion. His mother Natassia Woods said her son looked “like an empty shell” and “like Emmett Till”, referencing the 1955 lynching of the black teen. Daniels called for the involved officers to be dismissed from the force.
Sheriff TK Waters has launched an administrative review to determine if the officers violated the department’s policies. Waters stated, “There was force used by arresting detectives, and yes, that force is ugly. But the reality is that all force, all violence, is ugly and just because force is ugly does not mean it is unlawful or contrary to policy.”
Woods was arrested on drug and other charges. Two others were handcuffed in the traffic stop, including one with a handgun in his pocket. The arrest report states that Woods gave a firearm to one of the individuals handcuffed in the traffic stop. The video does not show Woods with a handgun.
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