Kansas City cop kneels on pregnant Black woman’s back during arrest
Activists are decrying what they consider to be excessive force used in the arrest of Deya Stallings.
Warning: This article contains imagery and a link to video you may find unnerving or triggering.
Activists in Kansas City, Missouri are decrying what they consider to be excessive force used in the arrest of a pregnant Black woman.
Kansas City Police allege that Deja Stallings, 25, tried to prevent authorities from arresting a local activist named Troy Robertson by grabbing an officer and trying to pull Robertson away from them.
a pregnant Black woman.
A pregnant Stallings was arrested on Sept. 30 outside of a local gas station after a security guard called police, claiming a fight had broken out in the parking lot. The guard reportedly said there were “15-20 individuals fighting on the business’s property.”
CNN is reporting that a witness to the arrest said that the gathering was organized by “a local Black activist” who was releasing balloons to honor a victim of violence.
In the disturbing video, a white Kansas City Police officer is seen pushing his knee in Stallings’ back. The woman, who is visibly pregnant, is being pinned to the ground. Witnesses nearby are voicing their concerns as another officer yells at them to stand back.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, Stallings’ attorney, Stacy Shaw, said her nine-months-pregnant client went to a hospital after the arrest and has needed medical care on and off since. Stallings has been issued a municipal summons for hindering an arrest.
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“The most recent act of brutality of a pregnant woman, an unborn child, is yet another example of the culture of brutality, callousness and disregard for the citizens of our community,” Kevin Woolfolk of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference told NBC 12.
“This cannot and will not be dismissed, this double assault on humanity,” said Rev. Rodney Williams, president of the Kansas City NAACP chapter, told the outlet.
Kansas City protesters are calling for the police department to be defunded at a rate of 50% and want that money redirected to social services for its Black community.
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