Beating caught on dashcam under investigation
MINNEAPOLIS (NBC) and [HERE] and [HERE] and [SEE U-TUBE] - It was a traffic stop like many others. Derryl Jenkins, 42, was pulled over in February as he drove through north Minneapolis, stopped for speeding as he allegedly went 15 miles over the limit.
The stop was recorded on a seven minute tape from the squad car of Officer Richard Walker.
Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said he reviewed the arrest video and said Officer Walker's actions all appear to be very appropriate.
In a statement released Monday, Chief Dolan also said some of the actions of responding officers did give him concern and because of that he is asking for an outside review by the FBI.
"Additionally, the incident has been referred to my Internal Affairs and Training Units for a review of our arrest procedures in dealing with suspects resisting arrest," Dolan said.
Derryl Jenkins said Officer Walker refused to explain why he was stopped that night, and he asked for a police supervisor. When Walker said one wasn't available, Jenkins said he got out of the car to get his drivers license from his back pocket.
That's when he said Walker tried to tackle him. Backup arrived, and six officers helped Walker as Jenkins was punched, kicked and stunned three times with a Taser.
"I was nervous," Jenkins said. "Very nervous. Very, very, very nervous."
Police claim Jenkins was uncooperative, that he smelled like alcohol and slurred his speech.
Jenkins said he drank three beers with dinner that night, but insisted he was not impaired, and is heard on the tape as he repeatedly asked, "What did I do wrong?"
"All I remember is getting out of the car, getting thrown down and feeling the punches," Jenkins said. "And those last words were, 'I can't breathe'."
Jenkins said he next remembered waking up to paramedics with cuts, bruises, chipped teeth and permanent damage to his thumb.
He spent four days in jail, but said he's never thought the arrest was racially motivated.
"I don' t want people to think, 'Oh, a black man angry with police,'" Jenkins, who is African-American, said. "This isn't a black issue, this is a people issue."
Paul Edlund is Jenkins' attorney, and said anyone who doubts his story need only watch the video.
"It's incredible," Edlund said. "His palms are outstretched, they're flat. He's not in a combative position. He never bear hugs the officer, never swings at the officer, never punches him."
But worse than the beating, Jenkins said, was being criminally charged, accused of a felony for assaulting an officer.
Walker has never wavered from his version of the arrest, insisting in court hearings his actions were justified, and nine other policeman at the scene that night back up Walker in official reports, but Edlund said those, too, are an injustice.
"I think you can clearly see from the video that what happened was not right," Edlund said. "And then writing reports that are false is not right, and there should be accountability for that."
A judge agreed, after watching the squad car video, finding Walker had no reason to suspect Jenkins of DUI and dismissed the charges against him.
But Jenkins said he may not have been so lucky without the tape, and that others who don't have proof on video could be the victims of police.
"They just did that way too easy," Jenkins said. "And then lied about it and tried to cover it up. That's the kind of stuff that scares me."
Jenkins said he hopes the video spurs change in the Minneapolis Police Department, but he has not filed a complaint with the city or a civil lawsuit.
He said, though, he is reserving that option.