FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Outside the NAACP building in Fort Wayne on Friday, the organization’s president, Reverend Saharra Bledsoe, shared her thoughts on recently released bodycam footage of the arrest of 29-year-old Tyjana Smith.
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“There is no excuse for what these officers did to her,” Rev. Bledsoe said.
Rev. Bledsoe says she was horrified when she saw the video.
In footage taken by a witness to the arrest, one of the officers, Mason Wills, can be seen hitting Smith.
“If an officer thinks he can do something like that to a woman, that could have been my sister, my niece, my nephew, and that’s how I see it,” said Rev. Bledsoe.
In court documents, Officer Wills claims Smith refused to identify himself and did not follow his orders.
Officer Wills was also involved in a police shooting in June that left 22-year-old Linzell Parhm dead.
“This man should never have been allowed to serve in our church again, and that makes me angry,” said Rev. Bledsoe.
Rev. Bledsoe said she was disappointed with the leadership of Mayor Sharon Tucker and Fort Wayne Police Chief Schott Caudill.
She says they should work more closely with the NAACP to find solutions.
“We have information that needs to be put on the table,” said Rev. Bledsoe.
Rev. Bledsoe says that despite contacting Tucker and Caudill, she has not heard from either of them.
A city spokesperson sent 21Investigates the following statement:
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