Community leaders call for OKC police reform after mass arrest
"Being in those handcuffs was the worst feeling ... sitting out there in the rain and the hail," the student athlete said at a recent news conference held to discuss the mass arrest of more than 150 people on May 17.
"They said I was part of an illegal gathering. Now, I'm questioning if everywhere I go is an illegal gathering."
Many clergy and community leaders joined residents like Hammons on Friday at Ebenezer Baptist Church to say that the police department's decision to arrest a large group of people in connection with what the authorities called a "street takeover" for an "illegal speed contest" near SE 66 and Interstate 35 amounted to police overreach and they wanted the Oklahoma City Police Department to be held accountable.
Davon Scott Jones, 18, said he worried that his college scholarship would be taken away because he got arrested. He said typically, no one that he hangs out with is doing anything bad.
"Is hanging out illegal?" he asked.
More: OKC street racing crackdown sparks tensions between police and Black, Hispanic communities
The Rev. Derrick Scobey, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and an Oklahoma County jail trustee, shared his outrage that police arrested mostly young people and they were booked into the jail.
"The 154 people who were arrested, they deserve better ― Oklahoma City deserves better," he said. "The time for leadership certainly is right now.
Scobey said he is asking District Attorney Vicki Behenna to refrain from filing charges against the group. He also said if police weren't held accountable for the arrests, he would not support future city initiatives and he would tell others in the Black community not to support them, as well.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Valerie Littlejohn discussed the department's response in light of the criticism. She said illegal drag racing has become a growing problem not just in Oklahoma City but other large cities across the country.
"We kind of have the no tolerance response," she said.
"There's been times where we've done the citation and release, and a lot of times, these groups tend to migrate to a different location and continue these activities and so it's one of those things where we really want people to understand how serious it can be and how dangerous it can be."
Meanwhile, other leaders who spoke included Santa Fe Schools Superintendent Chris Brewster; the Rev. Major L. Jemison, senior pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and president of the Baptist Ministers Association; the Rev. Christine Byrd, senior pastor of New Life Baptist Church and CJAC board member; and District 1 Oklahoma County Chief Deputy John Pettis.
Brewster, who also pastors a church called The Well, said he became incensed when he heard about the arrests.
"I think this is simply a massive overreach to what had occurred," he said.
More than a dozen young people like Hammons and their family members talked to the media about what happened during the mass arrests. They focused, in particular, about how police officers seemed confused about why they were taking the group to jail and what complaints they would file against them.
The coalition will address concerns about the circumstances surrounding these arrests and advocate for accountability, transparency, and fair treatment of the affected young people and their families.
Brook Arbeitman, spokesman for District Attorney Vicki Behanna, said that whether they should have been "released or taken to jail is a policy question and the DA's office is not going to comment on OCPD policy."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC leaders want police transparency after mass arrest of teenagers
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