Seeking Justice: Your Help Is Needed

Hey Ya'll.!

Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely ask for help because if there's a way, I will find it, but I have recently found myself in a situation that I am unfamiliar with navigating. If at the very least you only read my story, that is more than I could ask for from anyone because at the end of this all, I am focused on raising awareness on a very predominant issue that far too often goes ignored until it happens to you or someone close to you.

Here's my story and thank you for taking the time to read it.

On Thursday, March 13th, while driving home from Minong, WI after dropping my youngest son off with his dad for the weekend, I was followed by a Douglas County Sheriff between Solon and Hawthorn when I was pulled over for driving 6 mph over the speed limit. I complied when the lights came on and proceeded to pull over to receive what I assumed was going to be a simple speeding ticket, and I'd be sent on my way. There was no way to anticipate what was to follow....

While the officer approached my car I was attempting to cover an open Twisted Tea box in my back seat to avoid an open container ticket. He noticed and asked what I was trying to hide so I confessed and told him the reason behind it. He then asked for my license and when he went back to his car to run my information I proceeded to reach for my registration out of my glove box. When he didn't return to request it, I decided to just put it back. He then approached the passenger side of my car and asked why I was moving around so much inside my vehicle so I explained what I was doing with my registration. As I was talking with him a second sheriff approached the drivers side of my car and I found myself being asked to exit my vehicle. I had asked the officer what reason he had for me to exit my car and he responded with "just to talk" so I told him that I didn't think I needed to exit my vehicle just to talk because we were talking just fine through my window. He then began to press that I needed to exit my vehicle to talk and because "he said so" and I continued to respond with the fact that we were talking and I was complying with that and did not feel there was a reason to exit my vehicle. As the officer on my passenger side grew more aggressive with his request I continued to stand firm on not seeing a valid reason to exit. During this progression, the officer on my drivers side reached in through my window and unlocked my car from inside, opened the door and unbuckled my seat belt and aggressively demanded I get out of my car. I then said "please stop I just want to know why" and he proceeded to grab my arm and forcefully attempt to remove me from the vehicle. I again kept repeating "please stop I just want to know why" and next thing I knew both officers were at my drivers side aggressively yanking me out of my car. It was then I knew this was going to go very wrong and all of a sudden I had a taser gun to my chest and I was ripped out of my vehicle and body slammed onto the pavement. Instinctively I just began screaming for help and was terrified for my life. Each officer had a hand on my head and a knee each on my shoulder and hips. As I screamed for help the proceeded to laugh at me and apply unnecessary force to contain me in hand cuffs. They then brought me to my feet and placed me against the first cop car. At this point I was so terrified for my life I just kept pleading for them to stop and requested a female cop to be present at which they replied "it doesn't work like that". They told me that me resisting made them scared for their lives that I had a gun and said I needed to understand that this is how cops get shot. I then asked if they would've responded like this if I was white and the one officer laughed and said "no one gives a fuck if you're black." I was placed in the back of a cop car while they destroyed my vehicle in search of the gun they told me they believed I was hiding in my car. I was then arrested for Obstruction and Resisting even after the gun they assumed I had was never found.

Due to this encounter I have suffered from half of my right eye being completely blood shot out from excessive pressure, bruised ribs and lung on the right side of my body that has resulted in difficulty breathing, lifting and basic movement, and a sprained left wrist with cuts from being improperly twisted and the cuffs being too tight.

I have met with medical professionals to be looked at and have my injuries documented, filed an official report with the sheriff's department for misconduct and have met with attorneys at Gondik Law for legal counsel. I am asking for donations to raise money for the retainer I need to secure an appropriate legal team to represent my case for abuse of power and racial profiling and discrimination.

Any donations is appreciated but above all I want to raise awareness for #BlackLivesMatter and how often cops abuse their power, specifically with women and people of color. I never thought this would happen to me and came very close to losing my life to 2 officers in the middle of nowhere. I was all alone and was attempted to be convinced that their lives were more in danger over me than mine was of them. What happened to me was a nightmare and will not be forgotten or allowed to slide through the cracks as another person of color abused out of racial profiling and discriminatory assumptions. Please help me take a stand and put this to a stop in our community so that we ALL can feel safe in our county.

Thank you for hearing my story and never forget to protect yourselves and each other always.