A transgender Philadelphia city official got in a scuffle with a Pennsylvania State policeman after her husband was detained and played the race card during a traffic stop on Saturday.
As The Daily Mail reported, Celena Morrison, Philadelphia’s executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, was arrested on Saturday along with her husband, Darius McLean. Pennsylvania State Police said that the officer initiated a traffic stop on I-76 westbound at roughly 9 AM for Morrison’s gray Infinity sedan, which reportedly had several vehicle code violations.
The Mail reported a green Dodge driven by McLean then pulled up behind the trooper’s car. The officer then approached the vehicle, and police say that’s when Mclean became “verbally combative” and resisted arrest.”
“The individual refused multiple lawful orders made by the trooper, and the trooper subsequently attempted to place the individual under arrest,” police said.
Morrison started recording her video with McLean whimpering on the ground as the officer tried to handcuff him. Morrison can be heard shouting, “That is my husband!” multiple times.
The cop ignores her while McLean continues whining. Morrison then shouts, “I work for the mayor!” at the top of her lungs, prompting the officer to tell her, “Shut the f**k up.”
McLean then shouts: “It’s because I’m Black!” prompting a quick denial from the officer. Morrison agrees with her husband that it’s all racism.
Once McLean was finally handcuffed, the officer moved to arrest Morrison, and then all hell broke loose.
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The officer tells Morrison to “turn around” and surrender to avoid getting tased. Morrison drops her phone and fights with the cop for several seconds instead.
Afterward, the LGBTQ officer claimed she was punched and that the couple “ain’t done nothing wrong.”
As the Mail notes, the trooper then picks up Morrison’s phone and explains: “This was a simple traffic stop cause you didn’t have your lights on. You didn’t have your lights on, and you’re tailgating.”
The outlet reports Morrison and McLean were taken into custody for resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct and other related charges. They were released on Saturday without being charged, however.
Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker, Morrison’s employer, released a statement on X claiming she found the incident “very concerning.”
A video circulating on social media that depicts a portion of the incident is very concerning to me, and I will have no further comment until the investigation has been completed.
— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) March 2, 2024
