Saturday morning a state trooper in Philadelphia arrested two people after a traffic stop. One of those people was the executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs for the city. Celena Morrison, who is black and trans, filmed a portion of the arrest and interaction with the trooper who is white. That video was posted online and has since garnered a lot of attention. The mayor expressed concern about it on X.
A video circulating on social media that depicts a portion of the incident is very concerning to me, and I will have no further comment until the investigation has been completed.
— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) March 2, 2024
So what happened here? Let’s start with the video which shows part of the incident. The man on the ground in this clip is Darius McLean who runs a Community Center in Philadelphia and is Celena Morrison’s husband. Morrison is filming and also shouting at the trooper from behind the camera. Here’s part of the exchange:
Morrison, while taking the video, is heard telling the trooper that the person is her husband and that she works for the mayor.
“Please just stop,” McLean says to the trooper, adding: “It’s because I’m Black.”
“It’s not ‘cause you’re Black,” the trooper shouts.
“Yes it is!” Morrison says.
“I don’t know why this is happening,” Morrison adds. “We ain’t done nothing wrong.”
Once McLean is handcuffed, the trooper approaches Morrison and it looks like the camera is knocked to the ground. It’s still recording to we get audio of what happened next.
Morrison claims the trooper “just punched me.” “What is going on? Why are you so aggressive?” Morrison asks.
Next we hear the trooper, who hasn’t been identified talking into his radio letting them know that everything is under control. “We’re good” he said. But then seconds later he shouts at McLean who is reaching for his glasses. Then it sounds like Morrison threatens to “beat the s**t” out of the trooper who is trying to get McLean up on his feet.
Finally the trooper shouts, “This was a simple traffic stop because you didn’t have your lights on. You didn’t have your lights on and you were tailgaiting me.” Then, turning his attention to McLean he adds, “And I don’t know who you are but I don’t need someone rolling up on me.” Then the argument continues with the trooper accusing McLean of resisting and McLean accusing the trooper of pulling his gun.
Here’s the clip.
“Philly Black Pride stands against any use of excessive force, especially against individuals from marginalized communities like Celena Morrison, ED of Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs, and spouse Darius McLean. Upholding dignity and rights for all is essential for a just society pic.twitter.com/TnXdEqRmPW
— HopeGiselle (@HopeGiselle) March 3, 2024
Here’s apparently what happened before the camera started rolling:
The drama unfolded on Saturday shortly after 9 a.m. on Interstate 76 when Morrison, who was driving a gray Infiniti sedan followed by McLean at the wheel of a green Dodge, was pulled over for alleged “multiple vehicle code violations.”
McLean pulled up behind her, and “the trooper approached the Dodge, and the operator of the vehicle became verbally combative toward the trooper,” the department told the outlet.
“The individual refused multiple lawful orders made by the trooper and the trooper subsequently attempted to place the individual under arrest,” police said.
So it sounds like everything we’d need to see to determine whether the trooper was right to arrest McLean wasn’t recorded by Morrison’s phone but state troopers in PA recently started using body cameras so it’s likely there is a recording of this from the trooper’s camera. That’s probably what the investigation will be looking at.
The key points of this investigation are going to be what McLean said when the trooper approached his car. Did he refuse orders to get out of the car and/or resist arrest. Also, did the trooper throw a punch at Morrison? But I think the fact that someone (probably Morrison) threatened to beat up the trooper is also going to have an impact as it shows someone who is angry and combative, just as the trooper claimed.