Body Camera Video Shows Black Man Arrested, Punched On His Own Porch
Dejuan Yourse was sitting on his mother’s porch as he waited for her to come home and let him in. However, a neighbor’s call-in of a possible robbery resulted in Officer Travis Cole arriving on the scene to harass, arrest and punch Yourse.
After reviewing body camera footage that has been released to the public, city council members in Greensboro, North Carolina unanimously voted to permanently strip Cole of his title and privileges as a police officer, according to the Huffington Post.
While the council also urged the District Attorney to proceed with criminal charges, he refused to do so, citing an unwillingness to “rehash the same evidence,” according to the Greensboro News and Record.
Footage of the June incident shows Cole and Officer C.N. Jackson – who recently stepped down from her position – approaching Yourse with a friendly demeanor and inquiring whether or not he currently lived in the home. Cole raised questions that would suggest he was accusing Yourse of attempting to break into the garage with a shovel.
Yours then attempts to call his mother and even gives the officers his ID, which actually listed the current address as his home, to prove his story. He also suggested that they contact a neighbor to verify his incident. He later tries to call someone so that they can also verify who he is and hopefully deescalate the situation. That’s when Cole can be seen reaching for Yourse’s phone.
Cole then throws Yourse to the floor of the porch and punches him in the head with claims that he was resisting arrest.
“I’m not resisting!,” Yours can be heard saying multiple times on the video.
The officers charged Yourse with resisting arrest and assault on government officials, which were dropped when Cole resigned in August.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan also apologized to Yourse and his mother on behalf of the city council and even said, “It was ugly. It was brutal. It was completely unnecessary.”
The incident fortunately didn’t result in any injuries, but offers a detailed account of how quickly police interactions can escalate and bring light to the profiling and unfair treatment people of color often fall victim to.
Photo Credit: YouTube