Commerce Police Department chief Kerry Crews Monday resigned from his post after a controversial May 20 arrest involving a beauty pageant queen in which he called her a “black b*tch.”
Just before her arrest, former Miss Black Texas Carmen Ponder was allegedly engaged in a heated discussion with Commerce ISD school board trustee Michael Beane at a Commerce, Texas Walmart, DFW-CBS reports. The argument reportedly stemmed from a road-rage confrontation between the two.
Beane then allegedly asked Crews, who was off-duty and shopping at the Walmart, to intervene in the dispute.
As Ponder, a 23-year-old student Texas A&M University – Commerce student, was leaving the store, Crews allegedly approached her. She said she didn’t realize he was an officer because he was out of uniform. She then called 911 before being arrested.
Multiple outlets report that it was an instance of mistaken identity, in which she thought Crews was actually Beane. Ponder said he called her a “black b*tch” after confronting her.
Several attendees gathered Monday at Commerce’s City Hall wearing signs of support for Crews, including T-shirts that read: “I support Kerry Crews.”
Crews was not present at a Monday meeting where details of the investigation were released. Instead, he asked Commerce Mayor Wyman Williams to read aloud his resignation:
“I do not feel that I can continue to bear the weight of the police chief position. It was my understanding that officers had been called, but I felt that it was something that I could handle. I was wrong. As a result of being off-duty I was unprepared for the response I received from Ms. Ponder, and I became emotional.”
Crews’ decision to resign was unexpected because he was cleared of any wrongdoing. He is expected to continue working for the city as an assistant to the Commerce city manager.
The Commerce ISD school board will meet Tuesday, according to Fox 4, to discuss employment and resignations. It’s not yet clear if this will involve Beane.
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