Philadelphia, PA: The Pennsylvania state police said Friday that the trooper who arrested two LGBTQ+ leaders after a tense traffic stop in Philadelphia is no longer working for the agency.
Lt. Adam Reed of the Pennsylvania State Police said the officer, who has not been named, no longer works for the agency. It is not clear if he was fired or when he quit, though.
Cellena Morrison and her husband Darius McLean were arrested in March after a traffic stop on a city highway with a raised section. Part of the stop was caught on video. Morrison runs the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs, and McLean controls an LGBTQ+ community centre in the city.
“I can say as of today, he’s no longer employed. I can’t offer any additional information, as we don’t comment on personnel matters,” Reed said.
After the arrests, Mayor Cherelle Parker spoke out. She said that the interaction between the trooper, who looks white, and the Black couple was “very concerning.”
When the state police didn’t back up the sergeant, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association said that was wrong.
The couple’s lawyer, Kevin Mincey, refused to say anything. This man is getting ready to sue the state police and the cop on their behalf.
“This decision is reprehensible,” Union President Stephen Polishan said in an statement. “This young trooper, on the job for only six months, deserved better from our department.”
Their lawyer says that the couple was held for about 12 hours after the March 2 traffic stop at 9 a.m., when Morrison was pulled over by a cop who drove between their two cars while they were driving separately to take a car in for repairs.
When McLean pulled over behind the policeman and stopped, Morrison recorded the event on her cell phone. McLean is seen lying on the side of the road in the rain in the video. The video stopped when the trooper hit her with the phone, Morrison’s lawyers say.
According to the couple’s lawyers, the stop was unnecessary because the trooper would not have had time to check Morrison’s registration before getting in the way of the pair and pulling him over. On the tape, the trooper said he pulled her over for tailgating and not having her lights on.
