A civil rights attorney who is representing a woman arrested during a traffic stop in Hurst said the officer failed to use de-escalation techniques.
Lee Merritt, who is representing Taneisha Thompson, who was arrested Jan. 16, said in an interview Friday that the officer who arrested his client could have de-escalated the situation. Thompson lives in the Metroplex, Merritt said.
“The policy is that officers should be learning about de-escalation techniques,” Merritt said.
Kara McKinney, a spokesperson for the city, said the Hurst Police department has a de-escalation policy. “They go through significant training,” she said, referring to the officers.
When asked about Merritt’s accusations that the officer did not use de-escalation techniques during the traffic stop, McKinney said she could not comment because the District Attorney’s Office is investigating the charges stemming from the original traffic stop.
A video that got millions of views on social media showed the officer pulling Thompson out of the car when she refused to get out of the vehicle.
Taneisha Thompson was treated at a hospital after a Hurst police officer pulled her from her car following a traffic stop. Thompson recorded her interaction with the police on video. Lee Merritt
The dashcam video shows the officer telling Thompson that she had littered when she threw her traffic citation out of the car window.
The officer grabbed Thompson’s arm, and she told the officer to let go and that he was holding her arm too tightly. The officer tells the woman she is under arrest and asks her to get out of the car. She says she won’t get out until his supervisor arrives. About a minute later, the officer reaches in the vehicle, pulls the woman out and takes her to the ground.
Her 15-year-old son can be heard in the background pleading with his mom and the officer to stop.
An excessive force complaint was filed on Jan. 20, according to the Police Department. The investigation was closed after authorities determined the woman’s claims were unfounded, the department said.
⭐ Our editors also recommend:
Merritt said Thompson sustained a black eye and bruises and received stitches in her lower lip.
He said Thompson was driving through Hurst when she took a wrong exit. She then made a U-turn, which is when she was stopped.
Merritt said the situation involving Thompson reminded him of Jacqueline Craig, a Black woman who was tackled and arrested by a Fort Worth police officer after she called 911 following a dispute with her neighbor. The 2016 arrest became a national story after the video of the arrest went viral.
The charges were dropped, and city settled the case with Craig in 2022. She died in 2023.
“What we learned is that an officer’s emphasis should always be on de-escalation,” he said.
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
With my guide dog Freddie, I keep tabs on growth, economic development and other issues in Northeast Tarrant cities and other communities near Fort Worth. I’ve been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 34 years.