The passenger has been identified as 23-year-old Tedrick Washington Jr. The incident took place on 19 August in Blytheville, Arkansas, following a police pursuit involving the vehicle in which he was travelling.
According to an incident report cited by local outlet NEA Report, the pursuit began after Trooper Theodore Henderson said he saw a 2023 Infiniti QX50 travelling at 82mph in a 60mph zone on Arkansas 18.
Henderson reported that the driver accelerated after he activated his emergency lights. The vehicle was later stopped after police used spike strips and a tactical vehicle intervention, according to the report.
Police identified the driver as Adonerus Johnson, 25. Johnson was arrested on several allegations, including felony fleeing, DWI, reckless driving and resisting arrest.
Washington was seated behind the driver. Video footage shows Henderson ordering him to leave the SUV before breaking the rear driver’s-side window with a baton.
Henderson wrote that Washington said he could not get out and did not comply with repeated orders to crawl through the opening. The trooper said Washington pulled his arm away and braced himself against a partially opened door.
The footage shows Henderson grabbing Washington’s wrist and hair as he pulled him toward the window. Henderson reported that he struck Washington once in the face after he believed the passenger was preparing to strike him.
Washington was then pulled from the vehicle and taken to the ground. Henderson reported striking him a second time during the effort to handcuff him, saying Washington had pulled away and kept one arm beneath his head.
Washington was charged with obstruction of governmental operations and resisting arrest. A front-seat passenger complied with officers’ orders and was released without charges.
Washington told The Shade Room that he had been cooperating with police and alleged that the trooper used excessive force. He said he intended to pursue legal action.
The released records reviewed by NEA Report did not include a separate Arkansas State Police administrative finding on Henderson’s use of force. The report also noted that an internal review by the Gosnell Police Department concerned the conduct of a different officer, not Henderson.
