Charges against a Black driver who a Virginia State Police trooper removed from her car back in March have been dropped, as it was determined the trooper had no legal merit to detain her.
Trooper Robert Hindenlang pulled over government employee Juanisha Brooks on March 6 shortly after 2 a.m., as reported by The Washington Post. Dashcam footage shows the driver ask why she was pulled over and getting no response from Hindenlang, who then asked her to step out of the vehicle. After she refused, he forcibly removed her from the vehicle and handcuffed her. She then refused a sobriety test, before the trooper told her she was “under arrest for driving while intoxicated.”
Brooks was then taken to Fairfax County jail before two sobriety tests showed a 0.0 blood alcohol level. The trooper then decided to charge her with resisting arrest, eluding police, reckless driving and failing to have headlights on. To reach her vehicle from the police station, she had to ride a train, two busses and a cab to get to the tow lot, where she was charged $240. Brooks, who was stranded at the police station due to her wallet being left in her car, was only able to get to the tow lot after a jail magistrate who felt bad for her gave her $20.
Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descanso dismissed all charges after seeing the dashcam footage provided by Brooks’ attorney Patrick Blanch, in which the driver explains she was teary eyed because she was nervous that the officer might shoot her.
“It’s sickening and unacceptable that any member of our community fears for their safety during a routine traffic stop,” Descano said in a statement. “That’s why I will not rest until we bring about the day when this is no longer the case.”
Brooks told The Post that she is experiencing emotional trauma and hasn’t slept a full night since the incident occurred. The state police are conducting an internal investigation into the stop.
“Would he have done that to a White woman? No,” Brooks said. “He didn’t see me as a human being.…This has to stop. It’s racism at its core, and it should be seen as such.”
