Arkansas Trooper Caught On Camera Punching And Dragging Black Man By His Locs

Authorities in Blytheville, Arkansas, are investigating the brutal arrest of 24-year-old Tedrick Washington, who was dragged out of a vehicle by his dreadlocks at the hands of a state trooper. Washington was in the back seat of an SUV involved in a high-speed chase with officials before the incident happened.

What happened during the arrest of Tedrick Washington?

Dashcam video of the arrest, released by the Arkansas State Police on Sept. 1, captured the intense moment. The footage shows officers chasing down a black SUV with Washington and three other men inside during the Aug.19 incident, which occurred at 11 p.m., according to KARK. After crashing into the vehicle, which reportedly reached 140 MPH, one of the troopers, identified as Teddy Henderson, according to WREG, busted open a back window and began demanding that Washington to step out of the vehicle. 

“Crawl out the car! Crawl out the car!” he shouted at the Blytheville resident.

Washington struggled to open the door, telling the trooper he couldn’t, although the door on his other side appeared to be wide open, with another state trooper screaming for him to exit the vehicle.

Tension escalated when Henderson grabbed Washington by his dreadlocks, attempting to pull him through the broken window filled with sharp glass edges. He then punched the 24-year-old in the face with a closed fist, before tugging at his hair with force again, eventually pulling Washington out of the door.

Later on the video, Washington could be seen struggling to make sense of the arrest while in handcuffs, blood dripping down his back and face.

 “Ya’ll jacked me up gang!” he shouted at the troopers.

Read more about Tedrick Washington’s arrest on the next page.