Black Alabama man, 24, tasered by female cop who told him ‘your b**** a** ain’t so tough now’ breaks silence on ‘traumatizing’ arrest ordeal where he was also wrongly held on fentanyl charge
A black Alabama man who was tasered by a white officer and arrested for trafficking fentanyl is now sharing his harrowing story.
Officer Dana Elmore was seen on camera cursing and tasing Micah Washington, 24, with a stun gun while he was in handcuffs.
He was charged with trafficking in fentanyl, but the charge and associated $500,000 bond were dropped after “further investigation” revealed that the substance in his possession was not the opioid drug.
In an interview with ABCWashington revealed what happened during the incident and explained that he had never had a run-in or problem with the police before.
'I'm trying to behave well, but I'm really traumatised. I don't know what to think of the police now.'
Officer Dana Elmore was seen on camera cursing and tasing Micah Washington, 24, with a stun gun while he was in handcuffs
He told the station that he and his brother were changing a flat tire on the side of the road near his aunt's house when Elmore approached and asked for his ID.
By this time, Washington started asking what was going on and why he had to show his ID while complying with her order.
“I was respectful and said yes ma'am, no ma'am,” he said.
'She asked me to stand in the back of the car, but I felt like I wasn't being held and that I didn't have to do anything.
'She grabbed me and I stood between the back door and the driver's door. I tried to turn on my camera and record her, but she groped me for the first time and put her foot in my back after I fell.”
As his body lies against the front of the car, Elmore tells him to 'stay still'
She shouts, 'Shut up.' The man can be heard whining and crying as he repeatedly says in pain, “Oh my God.”
As soon as Washington fell, his brother, Shikeem Washington, started recording the video and at his request, his friend went to get the victim's aunt.
After Elmore ordered him to get up, Washington says he walked to the car in handcuffs and told her he had a gun in his pocket, which he was carrying legally.
The laughing officer grabbed the gun that was in his pocket before saying “oh yeah” and put the stun gun into his back again.
They can be heard shouting in the now viral video, “Shut the fuck up.” Washington whimpered and cried as he repeatedly said in pain, “Oh my God.”
Elmore asked, “Do you want it again?” He cried when she said, “Shut up.”
Washington said he was more worried about something happening to his brother than to himself.
“I honestly just want justice so that she gets what she is legally entitled to,” he said.
He thinks he would still be in jail if his brother hadn't recorded video.
Washington also clarified in the interview that no drugs were involved in his entire arrest and that he was not aware of his fentanyl charge until he was brought to trial.
Once arrested, Washington was charged with obstructing government operations, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.
His attorney, Leroy Maxwell, says all charges should be dismissed because this was not a legal arrest.
The officer continues and says, “Do you want it again?” He cries, while she says, 'Shut up'
Washington's girlfriend Jalexis Rice claims he was changing a tire when he was approached by a white officer who tased him at close range
Maxwell plans to file a $20 million lawsuit and said: “I was heartbroken to see such a young man. When he started crying it broke everyone's heart to see the pain and torture he was going through and how she seemed to enjoy it.
“It's not illegal to be black and change a tire. I understand obeying a police officer and in the end he did just that. But in the end he was arrested and tasered.'
Elmore, who comes from the Reform Police Department in Pickens County, has been placed on leave.
Washington's girlfriend, Jalexis Rice, said the incident escalated quickly and there was nothing she could do at this point.
“I couldn't do anything but cry,” said Rice, who was in the car at the time of the incident ABC News.
Elmore, who came from the Reform Police Department in Pickens County, has since been placed on leave
His mother, Toris Washington, told ABC she is glad the situation did not escalate further.
“Mothers with young black sons, please talk to them about situations like this, it's important. I thank God that the situation has not become worse.”
Reform Police Chief Richard Black and Mayor Melody Davis said they were aware of the video.
They called it a “citizen's arrest” and confirmed it took place on Saturday.
The statement read: “The Reform Police is aware of a video circulating about the arrest of a citizen on December 2.
“The department is in the process of turning over all materials related to this arrest to the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and has requested a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest.”
“In accordance with city policy, the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.”
On December 4, a rally was organized outside the Reform Municipal Building to protest Elmore's response.