Police initiate inquiry following arrest of Black teen walking during storm
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PLANO, Texas (KTVT) — Plano Police Chief Ed Drain has initiated an administrative inquiry to evaluate the department’s policies and procedures and to see if there needs to be any policy adjustments.
“We will continue to assure all Plano Police officers have the training and resources to maintain the level of excellence expected from them and to keep our community and our officers safe. We train our officers in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), which is the gold standard for law enforcement,” city spokesperson Steve Stoler said in a statement.
Plano police followed, arrested and charged Rodney Reese, 18, with being a pedestrian in the roadway on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
The misdemeanor charge against Reese has since been dropped.
Chief Drain said, “Our officers were on a welfare call. The arrest wasn’t consistent with the reason officers were there, to provide assistance. Therefore we dropped the charges.”
Police said officers received a call about a Black man stumbling in the middle of a snowy street, only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and were sent to perform a welfare check.
“We respect and trust our police officers and at the same time expect the highest level of professionalism,” said Mayor Harry LaRosiliere. This incident highlights an opportunity for us and the entire community to realize we all can do better in strengthening the relationship between Police and the African-American community. We are committed to understanding what we could have done better and how we can move forward in a constructive manner. Communication and dialogue is important and we look forward to better outcomes in the future.
Police released body camera footage of the encounter on Facebook on Friday. In the video, police are seen following Reese and repeatedly asking him where he is going and if he was okay, to which he repeatedly replies that he is fine and he is on his way home.
Plano police spokesperson David Tilley told CBS 11 News on Sunday, if the officers had left him alone and then something happened to him, such as falling on ice and freezing to death, the officers would have been liable.
He added the officers had authority to detain the man because he was walking in the middle of the street.
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