Texas cops in plainclothes followed a Black man home in an unmarked pickup truck last week, accusing him of running two stop signs and handcuffing him in his front yard while his wife recorded the incident.
At one-point, Sour Lake Police Chief Aaron Burleson placed his hand against the neck of the handcuffed man, Kendrick Bates, while reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
“Hey, get your hands off of his neck,” said Bates’ wife, Hailey Shelburne. “Call the cops, call the cops; more cops need to come here.”
Bates, who posted the video to his Facebook page, said the cops never identified themselves before confronting him on Oct. 5.
“They did not initially identify themselves, show up in an unmarked vehicle, and did not initiate emergency lights,” he wrote in the caption of the video.
“They immediately pinned me up against the truck, put (their) hands around my throat, and illegally searched my pockets.”
The video has since gone viral, drawing criticism from viewers who questioned why officers used physical force against Bates during an encounter over an alleged stop-sign violation.
Others questioned what happened before the video began and whether he had refused officers’ commands. The cops eventually cited him for the two alleged stop sign violations without arresting him.
The southeast Texas city of Sour Lake, which has a majority-white population of just over 2,000 people, issued a short statement on its Facebook page on Oct. 7.
“The City has reached out to a neighboring law enforcement agency and the Texas Rangers for independent review of the incident,” the statement said.
“During the pendency of the investigation, the Officers involved will be assigned to non-patrol duties.”
The 3-minute, 51-second video begins with Chief Burleson and the other plainclothes cop holding Bates against his truck as he appears confused about why he is being detained.
“What happened?” asked Shelburne after turning on her camera.
“I don’t know,” Bates responded. “They rolled up and told me to put my hands behind my back.”
“He was driving,” Shelburne told the cops. “He was already in his driveway when you all got here.”
“Be gentle with him; he’s not doing anything wrong,” his wife said as they twisted Bates’ arms behind his back to handcuff him.
“He’s not resisting; you all just threw him against the truck.”
The chief then places his hand against Bates’ neck while reaching into his back pocket.
“And you’re going in my pockets, sir,” Bates said. “You didn’t ask for any consent.”
Bates then twisted his body to not allow the chief to grab his wallet.
“Well then, let me have your driver’s license; quit fighting me,” the chief responded.
“No, sir, I don’t have to,” Bates responded.
“This is not a traffic stop,” he continued. “There’s no lights.”
“I’ll call Mark Ames,” Bates said, referring to a local judge, Hardin County’s Precinct 4 justice of the peace.
“I know him personally.”
“Call Mark Ames,” Chief Burleson responded.
“I’m the police chief, so deal with me.”
Bates vowed on his Facebook page that he would be suing the Sour Lake Police Department, launching a GoFundMe to raise money for legal fees, having raised $7,800 toward his $11,000 goal at the time of reporting.
“Two dudes in regular clothes. They just hop out and start walking towards me,” Bates told local media.
“Don’t show me no badge. Don’t say I’m such and such and such with this police department. None of that.”
“They had me up against my, up against my truck. And, you know, they’re yelling this and that, saying I ran two stop signs,” he continued.
“Even if I ran two stop signs, I don’t feel like that warranted anything that they did. Him putting his hands up against my throat while I’m up against the truck.”
“I was fearing for my life.”
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to Bates for comment but he has not yet responded.
