CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – A video of a man’s encounter with a Chesterfield County police officer during a traffic stop is going viral.
The 1-minute and 23-second video, posted to Twitter Tuesday night by the man’s girlfriend on his account, shows the heated encounter before the man appears to be pulled out of the car by the officer.
“A cop follows us into my boyfriend’s driveway and claims it is because we have a brake light out,” the tweet read. “The cop calls backup immediately. He proceeds to viciously pull him out of the car for absolutely no reason. I was forced to sit in the car until another cop came and detained me.”
As of Wednesday morning, the video has been viewed over a million times.
The video begins with the man, who has been identified as 19-year-old Elkanah A. Odembo, asking his girlfriend multiple times to record the incident as the officer appears to tug at his arm.
“You got a brake light out,” the officer responded. “You’re not being cooperative.”
The girlfriend pleads multiple times to the officer that they are being cooperative before the man appears to be pulled out of his car by the officer, and the video abruptly ends.
A cop follows us into my boyfriends driveway and claims it is because we have a brake light out. The cop calls backup immediately. He proceeds to viciously pull him out of the car for absolutely no reason. I was forced to sit in the car until another cop came and detained me.. pic.twitter.com/g15FlSt6YB
— Shaka Zulu ⚡️ (@Elly_grande) 22 May 2018
Chesterfield Police Chief Jeffrey Katz took to Twitter Wednesday morning to respond to the post, saying it went viral without the entire story.
“Late last night, @conspiracypro tweeted about a traffic stop involving @CCPDVa,” Katz said. “As most slept, that post went viral based upon the limited information provided. While an effective tweet, it falls short of telling the entire story. Facts matter. Sincerely appreciate your empathy.”
Late last night, @conspiracypro tweeted about a traffic stop involving @CCPDVa. As most slept, that post went viral based upon the limited information provided. While an effective tweet, it falls short of telling the entire story. Facts matter. Sincerely appreciate your empathy.
— Colonel Jeffrey S. Katz (@ColJSKatz) 23 May 2018
Chesterfield Police told 8News that they are reviewing the officer’s body-worn camera video of the incident, which occurred in the 3400 block of Hollow Wood Court.
When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle for an equipment violation, the driver — Odembo — pulled into a driveway. The officer then approached the vehicle in the driveway to speak with Odembo, who police said was uncooperative with the officer.
Police said that after Odembo attempted to exit the vehicle and push past the officer, a scuffle quickly ensued between the two before the driver fled into the home.
Another scuffle took place inside the residence. Eventually, the man was tased by police and taken into custody.
Odembo has been charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, three counts of obstruction of justice with force and defective equipment.