The Tuscaloosa Police Department is defending its officers Wednesday after video of an arrest circulated on social media.
The 35-second-long video shows Tuscaloosa police using a child’s bedroom window to enter a residence while attempting to make an arrest Tuesday night. Some people commenting on the video on Facebook questioned the officers’ tactics.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley said he reviewed the video, and he believes officers followed correct procedures while making a lawful arrest.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley, shown in this Jan. 28, 2022, file photo, said he believes officers followed correct procedures after a video of a Jan. 28 arrest circulated on social media.
“The suspect knew officers were outside her residence for nearly an hour. They had seen her and spoken to her through an open window, but she ignored multiple opportunities to come outside or even engage with officers,” Blankley said in the Wednesday news release from TPD.
“Instead, she chose to not comply and created a situation that forced officers to enter her home to take her into custody. Our officers will continue to protect our community, enforce our laws and arrest violent offenders.” said Blankley, who has served as TPD’s chief since March 2020.
The backstory
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Tuscaloosa Police Department officers went to 3501 Loop Road to serve 29-year-old D’ereka Renee Geter Scott with warrants for felony second-degree assault and failing to appear in court on eight outstanding traffic offenses, said Stephanie Taylor, a TPD spokeswoman.
Taylor said officers knocked on her door and announced their presence multiple times over the next 50 minutes without response. During that time, officers could see Scott and a man — later identified as Timothy Williams — turning off lights and moving inside the residence, but they never came to the door.
Rather than breaching and damaging the doorway, the officers opened an unlocked the window of an unoccupied bedroom and continued to announce their presence, calling ‘Tuscaloosa Police, come to the door’ for the next five minutes.
Officers entered through the window at 8:21 p.m., and were immediately met by Scott, who was recording using her phone to record the officers. Scott moved to the kitchen, declining to comply with officers. Taylor said both Scott and Williams actively resisted as officers attempted to take them into custody. Upon entering the apartment, one officer found a child in the residence and took her to another room for her safety.
The second-degree assault charge originated Nov. 24, when a woman reported that Scott, accompanied by another person, broke the woman’s front window with a metal pole. The woman said Scott then used the metal pole to strike her in the ribs and arm. The woman, who was hospitalized for her injuries, later obtained the warrant, which officers were attempting to serve Tuesday night, Taylor said.
Scott was charged with one count of resisting arrest, along with the felony assault charge, in addition to failure to appear in court for three seat belt violations, driving without insurance, following too closely and three speeding tickets.
Williams, 33, was charged with resisting the arrest of another person.
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa police chief defends officers after arrest video circulates
