Man Tased By Police While Picking Up Kids: “The Problem Is I’m Black”
In January, a St. Paul, Minn., father was tased and arrested by police while waiting in a public seating area to pick his kids up from school. His video of the disturbing encounter just surfaced this week—in the description on YouTube, he says the phone he used to record it was confiscated until months after the incident.
The video begins as the man, identified by the Minneapolis City Pages as Chris Lollie, 27, walks through the First National Bank Building Skyway after being asked to leave a public seating area by a store employee. A female officer follows, demanding to know his name and his problem with the shopkeeper.
Lollie calmly tells her that he doesn’t have to give his name—he knows his rights—and that “The problem is I’m black. That’s the problem.”
“I’ve got to go get my kids.”
As they continue walking toward Lollie’s kids’ school, another officer—identified in the police report as Bruce Schmidt—approaches them.
“What’s going on, brother?” Lollie says to him.
“You’re going to go to jail. I’m not your brother, I’m not here to argue with you. Put your hands behind your back,” Officer Schmidt replies. Then Lollie drops his phone as the officer grabs him, causing the video to cut out.
The audio continues, though: You can hear Lollie screaming for help, the sound of a stun gun charging up, and Lollie pleading “That’s my kids right there! My kids are right there!” as he’s being cuffed.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a working man. I take care of my kids. And I get this?” he says near the end of the recording, “And you tase me. For what? I don’t have any weapons. You’re the ones with the weapons here.”
The City Pages obtained the St. Paul PD police report, showing Lollie was arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct, and obstructing legal process. The charges against him have since been dismissed.
The St. Paul Police Department said on Twitter that no investigation into the officers’ behavior has been conducted because “no formal complaint has been made at this point.”
[h/t Slog]