A pregnant woman was handcuffed at gunpoint on August 12 on a rural road in Bradford County, Florida, Northeast of Gainesville. Ebony Washington told ABC News that the incident was so intense that she needed it to be documented for their safety and to serve as proof. She said she was only given a ticket for speeding, but the officer treated her as if she was a terrorist. She claimed that a speeding ticket would never warrant such harsh and severe measures.
Pastor Washington, Ebony's Husband, said his wife was treated as if she had done something big illegally. She was treated like a terrorist, which the family didn't like, especially since their children saw their mom being shouted at, handcuffed, with a gun pointed at her.
Moriah Washington, 10, Washington's daughter, said she didn't know what to do as she was scared just seeing her mom being treated that way. When the authorities handcuffed their mom, she thought she would never see her mom again as she would be put behind bars, and it made her sad as she didn't know where to go. She didn't know where she and her siblings would go if the enforcer took their mom. When a gun was pointed at her mom, she thought her mom would be shot. The scene terrified Moriah and her siblings, who were watching nearby.
Florida officer holds pregnant woman for speeding
Bradford County Sheriff's Office released a body camera that showed Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Desue pulling over Washington as she drove along a dark road. Washington stated that she turned her hazard lights on, signifying that she had planned on stopping, and drove a mile to a gas station where it had enough light and where she felt safe to pull over as she was with her children.
Desue screamed at the woman to get out of the vehicle while a child could be heard crying inside the vehicle. The body cam showed that the woman was peacefully trying to explain her side of the story to the officer, but the deputy responded that he didn't care about the excuses as he didn't want to hear it anyway and threatened the pregnant woman that if she makes any move, it will be her last.
Washington, on the other hand, still attempted to explain her side and the reason why she didn't immediately pull over, but Desue said he didn't care about the woman's excuses and told her to just shut up, per News Channel, Florida.
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Authorities dealing with right and wrong and not with black and white
Washington informed the officer that she was four months pregnant because she was worried he would push her to the ground. Ebony said she didn't give the officer any reason for him to harm her in front of her children. She admitted she was afraid for her life, but she remained calm as her children were with her, and she was also pregnant.
A spokesperson for the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, Gordon Smith, said Desue's action was unacceptable and not aligned with their policies and procedures.
Desue handed in his resignation, which was accepted immediately as the department said they don't deal with racial issues but rather with what is right and wrong.
Smith told Action News Jax that Desue had several issues before the incident with Washington.
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