Woman says Fort Worth officer racially profiled, used excessive force in traffic stop
A Fort Worth woman filed a lawsuit against the city after she was handcuffed for 17 minutes in the back of a police car during a traffic stop in which she says a Fort Worth police officer racially profiled her.
When Shamika Whitfield was pulled over in 2019, the officer who approached the driver’s side window was immediately aggressive, according to a lawsuit she filed against the city in federal court on May 17. She called 911 out of fear when the officer demanded she get out of the car after she informed him she had a legal handgun in the vehicle, the suit says.
“I cannot calm down because he is way too aggressive,” she told the 911 operator. “I’m Black, he’s white, and we already know what the issue is.”
The officer who pulled Whitfield over, Officer Thomas Shelton, was suspended for 30 days without pay for his actions during the traffic stop, according to disciplinary records. An internal affairs investigation concluded that Shelton failed to follow the department’s policies of de-escalation, professional conduct, handcuffing prisoners and traffic arrests.
The suit does not name Shelton or the police department as defendants, but says the city of Fort Worth is at fault for fostering an unofficial policy of excessive force within its police force. Whitfield also accuses the city of unlawful seizure because she was arrested and put into a police car.
In a response filed by the city of Fort Worth on May 28, the city denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
Fort Worth police released body cam footage of the traffic stop. In the video, Shelton pulls over Whitfield as she drives down Bryant Irvin Road on April 18, 2019. He approaches the driver’s side door and she rolls down her window.
“Wanna tell me what that was about?” the officer asks her.
“What was about?” she asks.
“Really?” he responds.
“About me pulling out?” she asks.
Shelton asks to see her driver’s license and insurance information. He tells her the problem is how she pulled out onto the road. The video shows the two have a tense conversation for about 10 seconds. Shelton tells her she got up to at least 60 mph, which is over the posted speed limit, and she says she did not. She then informs Shelton that her gun is in the car. She shows him where it is.
He says OK, and tells her, “Don’t reach for it.”
“Of course not,” she says.
“OK, I’m just letting you know, do not —” he says.
“Why would I reach for it?” she says, cutting him off.
Shelton tells her to stand up and get out of the car. Whitfield questions him, asking why she needs to get out, and he tells her he is getting her away from her gun because she is argumentative.
Whitfield has a valid concealed carry license, the lawsuit says.
Whitfield asks if Shelton will call another officer. He tells her to stand at the back of her car. She says she is uncomfortable and wants another officer there, and Shelton calls another officer to the scene over his radio.
Whitfield, still in her car, calls 911. She tells the operator an officer pulled her over and is being aggressive.
“I am not comfortable,” she tells the operator.
Shelton repeatedly tells her to get out of the car and pulls on her seat belt, body cam footage shows. She refuses to get out of the car and stays on the phone with 911, saying she will get out only when another officer arrives. Shelton says into his radio that he is about to “yank her” out of the car.
“This is entirely unnecessary for a speeding ticket,” she says to the 911 operator. “So for him to be behaving this way is completely unacceptable. And that is why we have an issue with the police today.”
About five minutes later, other police cars pull up behind Whitfield. Body cam footage shows at least six other officers arrive.
“OK, we got a bunch of them here, unbuckle your seat belt and get out like I instructed you to,” Shelton tells Whitfield.
She looks at another officer and asks why she needs to get out of the car. Shelton says he is distancing her from the gun. He reaches into the car, unbuckles her seat belt and pulls her from the front seat, body cam footage shows. Several officers handcuff Whitfield.
“This is ridiculous,” she yells as she is handcuffed against a police car. “This is exactly why the issue is the way it is with you all. Because of people like you.”
According to the lawsuit, an officer told her, “This is what happens when you say you have a gun in the car.”
Shelton walks away and talks to another officer.
“It’s a racist thing, of course,” he tells the officer, expressing exasperation at Whitfield’s suggestion that his actions were based on race. He explains the interaction he and Whitfield had about her gun and that he asked her to get out of the car.
Officers search Whitfield’s car. Legally, police can search a car without a warrant under the probable cause exception — if an officer has reason to believe there is contraband in the car, they can search it.
Whitfield waits in the back of the police car, handcuffed, for abut 17 minutes, according to body cam footage. An officer lets her out of the car and takes her handcuffs off.
After she got out of the police car, Shelton gave Whitfield her speeding ticket. The citation was ultimately dismissed, according to the lawsuit.
