Submission 7,277

Derrick Thompson's Arrest Video

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About

Derrick Thompson's Arrest Video is a viral video of Virginia resident Derrick Thompson being taken from his car by State Trooper Charles Hewitt in April 2019. The video was shared online by Thompson's lawyer in July 2020, after sending a letter detailing the Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. In the video, Thompson can be seen with his hands up refusing to get out of the car at the request of police officers who wanted to search the car for suspected marijuana. The after yelling and threatening Thompson, he forcefully took Thompson from the vehicle where he could be heard saying "how do you like that?"

Origin

On July 13th, 2020, Attorney and Twitter user @JoshuaErlich posted the video taken by Derrick Thompson captioned, "Today, we sent a letter to @MarkHerringVA about Virginia State Trooper Charles Hewitt. In April 2019, Derrick Thompson was driving to work when Hewitt terrorized and assaulted him" (shown below). The video gained over 215,100 views and 7,000 retweets in three days.

Today, we sent a letter to MarkHerringVA</a> about Virginia State Trooper Charles Hewitt.<br><br>In April 2019, Derrick Thompson was driving to work when Hewitt terrorized and assaulted him. <a href="https://t.co/YTSCeDLM9j">pic.twitter.com/YTSCeDLM9j</a></p>— Joshua Erlich (JoshuaErlich) July 13, 2020

Spread

On July 13th, 2020, Twitter user @JoshuaErlich^[1] shared the letter to the Attorney General and gained over 2,400 likes. In the letter, Erlich says that Hewitt has been engaged with racist materials online (shown below, left). Erlich also writes that Hewitt claimed to Thompson that he had been married to a Black woman which they found to be false (shown below, right).

When Mr. Thompson told Hewitt he believed his detention and the search of his vehicle to be illegal, Hewitt responded: Brother, how do you think this is going to end? Are you ready to go through all of this today, just for that? There's probably not even any weed in here. Throughout his interaction with Hewitt, Mr. Thompson repeatedly asserted that his detention was illegal. Eventually, Hewitt indicated toward Mr. Thompson's cell phone camera and shouted: Hewitt is unsettlingly comfortable with racist language and imagery. On Facebook, he is a fan of two different pages related to "Team Chepo," a racist comic and meme group. For example, on May 24, 2020, Team Chepo posted this image of a black man: I AM BLACK MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN YOU AINT BLACK Free Thinker On June 28, 2020, Team Chepo posted this racist and misogynist image: -NOW UH, THE GOOD--)/you CAN FOCUS ON SHAVING MY BACK AT HOME, YOU CALL ME MICHAEL WHO WAS THAT? SEĆRET SERVICE, DEAR-- SEE UNDERSTAND --THEY SAID, UH, NO MORÉ NETFLIX FOR US SHAP GOT IT YES MICHELLE eel These pages are also rampant with transphobic and homophobic images. You can see for yourself at: https://www.facebook.com/thechepoteam/ and https://www.facebook.com/chepoteam/.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT M-----------? HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? Off camera, Mr. Thompson can be heard crying out for help, shouting: Get off me! My hands are behind my back! My hands are behind my back! I am not resisting, sir! Sir, please get off my neck! I am not resisting! Get off my neck, sir, you are harming me! You are harming me! You are harming me, sir! You are harming me, sir! I am being harmed! I am being harmed! I am being harmed! I am being harmed! Hewitt forcibly threw Mr. Thompson face-down onto the pavement, causing cuts and abrasions to his face and left leg. Hewitt placed either his elbow or knee on Mr. Thompson's neck while he secured both of Mr. Thompson's arms behind his back and placed him in handcuffs. Mr. Thompson's face bled profusely. When Hewitt raised Mr. Thompson, handcuffed, to his feet, he asked for medical assistance, Hewitt replied, "you're not even hurt." The other Troopers then searched Mr. Thompson's vehicle. No evidence of any crime was found in Mr. Thompson's vehicle. Hewitt sat Mr. Thompson, still handcuffed, in the front passenger seat of his patrol vehicle. Hewitt attempted to explain what had just happened and insisted it had nothing to do with Mr. Thompson's race. Hewitt told Mr. Thompson that his own wife is black and, therefore, he could not possibly be racist.2 Mr. Thompson, injured and upset at the events that had just occurred, told Hewitt there was no way in hell a black woman would marry him. Mr. Thompson made at least one additional request for medical assistance. He was ignored. No medical assistance was provided to Mr. Thompson prior to, or following, his arrival at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. 2 Upon information and belief, Hewitt is not married to a black woman.

On July 15th, Trey Songz shared the video to his Instagram^[2] account. The post acquired over 2.6 million views in a day. That same day, Virginia State Police shared a statement regarding the arrest to their Facebook^[3] page. The post, which states that there is now a criminal investigation of the matter, gained over 150 shares in a day (shown below).

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA Colonel Gary T. Sette Superintendent LL Colonel Tracy S. Russilo Deputy Superintendent DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE (804) 674-2000 Virginia State Police Statement Regarding the April 2019 Fairfax County Traffic Stop Upon receipt of the July 13, 2020 social media post featuring cell phone video taken during a traffic stop from April 20, 2019 in Fairfax County, the Virginia State Police has initiated a criminal investigation into the atter. Prior to this week, state police had not received any complaint conceming this incident or any of the individuals involved. Virginia State Police Superintendent, Colonel Gary T. Settle, has reviewed the 2-minute cell phone video clip. "The conduct displayed by Trooper Hewitt during the course of the traffic stop is not in agreement with the established standards of conduct required of a Virginia trooper. Nor is it characteristic of the service provided daily across the Commonwealth of Virginia by Virginia State Police personnel," said Colonel Settle. Once state police concludes its findings, the criminal investigative file will be turned over to the Commonwealth's Attomey for final review and adjudication of the matter. In accordance with state police policy, Trooper C. Hewitt has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The April 20, 2019 traffic stop occurred at 4:15 p.m. when a Virginia State Police trooper initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 495 at the 51 mile marker in Fairfax County for an expired inspection decal. During the course of the traffic stop, the trooper confirmed that the driver - Mr. Demick T. Thompson of Woodbridge, Va - was driving on a suspended driver's license. The trooper also detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside Thompson's car. Additional troopers responded to assist the trooper with the traffic stop. Thompson refused to comply with the trooper's repeated requests to exit his vehicle. Approximately 10 minutes later, Trooper Hewitt informed Thompson that he was under arrest. Thompson still refused to exit his vehicle. Thompson was then forcibly removed from the vehicle and taken into custody. Thompson was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he underwent a medical evaluation for a minor abrasion to his forehead. Thompson was charged with obstruction of justice, driving on a suspended license and for the expired inspection decal. Per state police policy, if a person sustains even a minor injury while being taken into custody a use of force investigation is required. In accordance with that policy, Trooper C. Hewitt requested a sergeant respond to the scene to conduct an investigation. Subsequently, state police initiated an administrative investigation to address any violations of department policy and standards of conduct. The Virginia State Police adheres to strict policies regarding employee conduct and requires our employees to perform their duties with exceptional professionalism and integrity, and to treat the public with faimess and respect at all times. A NATIONALLY ACCREDITED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TDD 1-800-553-3144

In a July 15th Washinton Post^[4] article, The Virginia State Police superintendent, Col. Gary T. Settle was quoted saying, “The conduct displayed by Trooper Hewitt during the course of the traffic stop is not in agreement with the established standards of conduct required of a Virginia trooper. Nor is it characteristic of the service provided daily across the Commonwealth of Virginia by Virginia State Police personnel." The Washington Post^[4] also wrote, "Thompson, 28, of Woodbridge, said in an interview that he would like to see Hewitt fired and charged for the incident." The Daily Dot^[5] also published an article on the video.

Various Examples

Jacob McEntire @Jacob_McEntire_ Hey @VSPPIO - I just saw the video of one of your officers beating the s--- out of a black guy for no reason. Sorry - I should probably be more specific - I imagine that covers a lot of cases for y'all. Fire Charles Hewitt for his disgusting conduct against Derrick Thompson. 5:49 PM · Jul 15, 2020 · Twitter Web App

Melissa @melro67 Replying to @VSPPIO Publicizing arresting someone for providing a cell phone..but keeping State Trooper #CharlesHewitt in the job for over a year after he harassed and assaulted Derrick Thompson (and I imagine many others not on video). Your priorities are deeply f-----. #FireCharlesHewitt 2:18 PM · Jul 15, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

If young metro doesnt trust you I will assault you @bboyrondo Replying to @_princesscierra This was Virginia State Trooper Charles Hewitt. He graduated from Virginia State Police Academy in Richmond on June 24, 2011. You can send him an email, as it is publicly listed via a search at the link below, in addition to his phone number. employeedirectory.virginia.gov u/G4Designs 1:33 PM · Jul 15, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

i will forever keep this video in my camera roll to remind me that, say it with me, ACAB!! the officer’s name is Charles Hewitt, attacking Derrick Thompson, both from VA. not only that, but FAIRFAX COUNTY. absolutely disgusting, and his actions need repercussions. fuck this guy pic.twitter.com/GPAnQQPH5Z
— maxxy (@MaxBranciforte) July 15, 2020

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Twitter – JoshuaErlich

^[2] Instagram – TreySongz

^[3] Facebook – ViginiaStatePolice

^[4] WashingtonPost – Virginia State Police Investigating violent traffic stop

^[5] DailyDot – Video Virginia Troop Arrest

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