Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 3-16-18

Local
Civil Rights Organization Feel St. Pete Police Used Excessive Force
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
A local civil rights organization is calling for an investigation into an incident that took place last week. They are also renewing its cam- paigns for officers to wear body cam- eras.
The arrest of Lamont Stephens took place on March 9th, around 10 p.m. He was at the Shell Service Station, corner of 34th Street, South and 18th Avenue, in St. Peters- burg.
Stephens was allegedly slumped forward in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. The vehicle was still running and stopped beside a gas pump.
Members of the St. Petersburg Police Department and paramedics arrived, and Stephens reportedly refused to cooperate.
Stephens was charged with pos- session of marijuana. At that point, police stated that Stephens know- ingly and willingly resist the law en-
LAMONT STEPHENS
forcement officers.
According to the affidavit, the of-
ficer wrote, “The defendant tensed and braced his person against his ve- hicle failing to comply with com- mands to put his hands behind his back. The defendant continued to struggle with officers and during the struggle, the defendant and officers went to the ground. While on the
ground, the defendant braced his arms underneath his person and continued to resist officers’ attempts to handcuff him. The defendant was tased. After taser deployment, the defendant grabbed and attempted to gain control of the taser.”
Stephens allegedly admitted to knowing the vehicle had stolen prop- erty in it. The burglary of the vehicle in which the computer was taken had been reported at 4 a.m., that morning. He was also charged with burglary of a vehicle.
As the situation unfolded, an unidentified bystander recorded it. The video was then posted on social media.
The video shows the three offi- cers standing over Stephens. In the video, Stephens was shocked twice and one officer can be observed striking him while he was on the ground.
In light of the video, The National Christian League of Councils (NCLC) has officially requested St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony
Holloway to conduct an investiga- tion as to whether excessive force, police impropriety, and police bru- tality occurred during the arrest.
The organization is also “request- ing an investigation of the para- medics on scene ... to they were remiss in their professional capacity in correctly assessing and respond- ing to the screams, pleas, and med- ical status of the individual who was being tased and receiving the blows to his head and body.”
Dr. Bobby Doctor is the Na- tional President of NCLC and Sevell C. Brown, III is the National Di- rector.
Brown said, “I submitted via email my request to Chief Hol- loway on Monday, March 12, 2018 and copied Council members. There has been no response to date. The NCLC is in the process of investigat- ing this incident.”
He further said many of the ques- tions would be answered if the offi- cers were wearing Body Cameras.
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A