A Black man crosses the road…
He bumps into a man
The man is a cop in plain clothes
The Black man is now facing criminal charges pic.twitter.com/zosKaUtngI
— Dr. Yasmin (@DoctorYasmin) November 27, 2016
A Black Cambridge, Massachusetts, man has been charged for bumping into a plainclothes police officer in an Oct. 13 incident.
On that day, 21-year-old Cleon Hodge was walking across the street after work and checking his phone when Cambridge Police Sergeant Thomas Ahern allegedly bumped into the pedestrian. Immediately after, two women take out their cell phones and begin recording as the events unfold.
In the two videos from the incident, Ahern grabs and yanks Hodge around in an attempt to arrest the man. “Can you get your hands off me?” Hodge asks in the clip. “You supposed to say excuse me when you cross the street.”
As the officer roughs up the man, the two women question and hassle Ahern, demanding to see a badge. They tell the police officer to stop searching the pedestrian and that he needs a search warrant.
During an ABC News interview, Hodge recalls telling the plainclothes officer, “You have to say excuse me. You just don’t walk through people like that.” But as the video clip shows, there were no apologies made.
Ahren said that the 21-year-old made eye contact with him and clenched his fists in a “pre-assault” position, according to ABC News.
He added that Hodge intentionally walked into him. Initial police reports stated that Ahren walked up to the man with the intention to de-escalate the situation. But he was reportedly met with a litany of cuss words and demands for an apology.
Now, Hodge and the women who recorded the incident have been charged.
“The Cambridge Police filed an application for criminal complaint against Cleon Hodge, 21, from Dorchester, for disorderly conduct and assault and battery. A criminal complaint was filed against two women, one for interfering with a police officer and the other with assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with a police officer.”
After the incident reached the media spotlight, the Cambridge Police Department came out in defense of its officer, stating he followed procedure.
“The Cambridge Police Department conducted an internal review of an incident occurring on Oct. 13, 2016, in the Porter Square area involving Sergeant Thomas Ahern and three defendants and determined that Sergeant Ahern’s actions were consistent with his duty obligations,” the police statement read.
