MPD officer video taped handcuffing woman during traffic stop - WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Some people are questioning the actions of a Memphis police officer after cell phone video caught the officer handcuff and detain a woman during a traffic stop.

Rod Thompson shot the video from his cell phone outside of his home on Monroe Avenue near Lauderdale Street on Sunday.

It shows a woman pinned down to the ground by who appears to be a Memphis police officer. The woman repeatedly screams that she's innocent.

In the video she told the officer, “I don't even know what I did. What did I do? Sir, what did I do?"

Thompson heard the sirens and told WMC Action News 5 that it all happened during a traffic stop in front of his home.

“She didn't have her lights on and that's it. That's all that we heard,” said Thompson.

But, the woman disputes that. She's heard in the video saying, “I didn't drive with my lights off; they're automatic.”

Was it a traffic stop or police brutality? Thompson says before he began taking video, the officer manhandled the woman.

“He went up to the car. He pulled her out of her car by her hair. After that, he had her down on the ground, slammed her down on the ground. Then he got on her and handcuffed her,” said Thompson.

From there, witnesses say the officer put her in the back of his patrol car, only to release her minutes later without a citation.

“All of that rough house treatment to someone who clearly was not in violation of any law, that's simply not right,” said Bernal Smith, president and publisher of the Tri-State Defender.

Some people say there may be more to the story, including why the woman was pulled over, and whether the woman put up a fight.

“Understand that if you do not comply with the commands of the officer, if he has a valid reason for detaining you, then it's going to be by force. That's the nature of our jobs,” said Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams. “That video is not enough to make a decision about what was truly going on.”

We're told there may be more video somewhere that could give a better depiction of what really happened.

Memphis Police Department responded to WMC Action News 5's requests for comment with the following statement:

"We have recieved this video and it is currently being reviewed. We are attempting to identify the officer and the details surround this incident. Once additional information becomes available I will advise."

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