A Tennessee police officer has resigned in disgrace after he was caught on video using excessive force against an African-American woman during a traffic stop earlier this month.
Barrett Teague resigned from the Metro Nashville Police Department on Wednesday after a video posted to Facebook showed him strong-arming Adreneyonia Ensley, 21, at a gas station and slamming her up against a nearby car, according to The Tennessean.
Adreneyonia Ensley, 21, had exited her car to check her license plate tags when she was manhandled and assaulted by Nashville Metro Officer Barrett Teague. (YouTube / video screenshot)
Ensley detailed the incident on social media, saying Teague parked behind her after stopping her for expired license plate tags. After handing over the documents the officer had requested, Ensley got out of her car to check the tags for herself.
That’s when the clip shows Teague run up behind her, then pin the young woman’s arms behind her back. After a brief tussle, the police officer slams Ensley into the car parked next to hers.
He proceeds to manhandle her, and appears to try and force her back into her own car as several bystanders attempt to intervene.
“I think he just stopped me just to pick because we are black,” Ensley told News Channel 5 of the incident. “It’s hard to trust police officers now that something like this happened.”
The young woman and her boyfriend, who was with her at the time, were arrested and charged with resisting arrest. Ensley also said her 18-month-old son was left alone in the car for several minutes during the incident.
MNDP officials called the video very concerning.
“The administration of the MNPD [and] Officer Teague’s supervisors at the East Precinct are very concerned with what the video shows,” MNPD said after learning of the video.
The department issued a statement saying Teague, a four-year veteran of the force, was decommissioned on July 4 after video of the confrontation surfaced. He was placed on desk duty for weeks and was the subject of an investigation into possible excessive use of force prior to his resignation Wednesday, The Tennessean reported.
Though the administrative investigation is kaput, Teague remains under criminal investigation by the department for his actions.
Teague must serve a 30-day suspension without pay “for conduct unbecoming of a member of the police department” before his resignation takes effect. The case will then be turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine if charges will be filed.
The charges against Ensley and her boyfriend have since been dropped, her attorney said.
Watch more in the video below
