Philly LGBT Affairs executive director yells, ‘I work for the mayor,’ as she records her and her husband’s arrest

CNN

By Danny Freeman and Michelle Watson, CNN

(CNN) — Philadelphia’s head of LGBT affairs and her husband were arrested by a state trooper Saturday, in what the mayor is calling a “very concerning,” interaction, according to a video circulating on social media, which was confirmed by police.

Celena Morrison, executive director of the City’s Office of LGBT Affairs, recorded a portion of the arrest of her husband, Darius McLean, on the Vine Street Expressway, her sister told CNN on Sunday.

Morrison can be heard on the video repeatedly saying, “that is my husband,” as McLean is on the ground.

Morrison can then be heard saying, “I work for the mayor.”

“It’s ‘cause I’m Black,” McLean says in the video.

The unnamed trooper responds, “It’s not ‘cause you’re Black.”

The officer shown in the video then walks toward Morrison and the camera goes unstable.

A police report of the Saturday incident said the two individuals were both resisting arrest at the time of the traffic stop.

The unnamed state trooper seen in the video initiated the traffic stop for the driver of a gray Infiniti sedan, according to the report, due to “multiple Vehicle Code violations.” A green Dodge sedan pulled up and parked behind the trooper’s vehicle shortly thereafter.

The person driving the Dodge became “verbally combative” when the trooper approached, the report said.

“The individual refused multiple lawful orders made by the trooper and the trooper subsequently attempted to place the individual under arrest. The individual resisted arrest on multiple occasions,” the report said.

The driver of the Infiniti then began interfering with the arrest of the driver of the Dodge, the report said.

“Both individuals were subsequently arrested for Resisting Arrest, Obstruction of Justice, Disorderly Conduct and other related charges,” the report said.

The report does not list Morrison or McLean by name.

LaTasha Morrison Sinclair, Morrison’s sister, posted the arrest video on Facebook. The video is no longer public as of Sunday afternoon. It is unclear whether Facebook or Sinclair took the video down.

State police are not releasing the name of the trooper in the video at this time. The trooper is on restricted duty status and will not be on patrol during the investigation, according to Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Myles Snyder.

They also said the incident was recorded by a dashboard camera in the trooper’s vehicle.

They also said the incident was recorded by a dashboard camera in the trooper’s vehicle.

CNN has reached out to Facebook, the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police and Morrison for comment.

Joe Grace, the communications director for the mayor’s office, said, “please … give our City official some time and space.”

On Saturday, Mayor Cherelle Parker called the interaction “very concerning.”

“Earlier today, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper executed a car stop on the Vine Street Expressway in Philadelphia, reportedly for a Motor Vehicle Code violation.

“Celena Morrison, the City’s executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, was in the vehicle that was stopped,” Parker said.

“A video circulating on social media that depicts a portion of the incident is very concerning to me, and I will have no further comment until the investigation has been completed.”

A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police said Sunday its office is still investigating.

“Several misdemeanor and summary charges were filed but initially declined by the Philadelphia DA Office pending additional review of the incident,” Snyder said Sunday. “Multiple traffic violations to include expired/suspended registration, following too closely.”

A spokesperson with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said no charges have been filed as a result of the incident but the investigation is ongoing.

“The District Attorney’s Office has made no charging decision pending a thorough, even-handed investigation. As our office continues to investigate all aspects of the incident on the Vine Street Expressway on Saturday, we encourage members of the public who have truthful information about this incident to contact the DA’s Special Investigations Unit at DAO_SIU@phila.gov or 215-686-9608.”

“As this is an active and ongoing investigation, we have no additional comment at this time,” the spokesperson added.

CNN’s Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.

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