A Florida sheriff’s deputy has resigned after shocking body camera footage showed him holding a pregnant mother at gunpoint during a traffic stop last week, threatening to shoot her as her three kids cowered inside the car.
The frightening encounter transpired late last Friday, and saw Ebony Washington pulled over by Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason DeSue while driving from Gainesville to Jacksonville.
The officer had stopped Washington, who is four-months pregnant, for speeding – with the mom of three later admitting to going 75 mph in a 55 mph zone.
However, the run-in was far from a routine traffic stop – with the officer immediately producing his firearm a pointing at the fearful mother upon pulling her over, saying the mom had taken too long to stop.
DeSue would then go on to threaten Washington, telling her that ‘he’d put [her] into the ground’ and that if she moved ‘that’ll be your last mistake you’re gonna make.
The encounter was so tense that Washington told her scared kids to record it on a cell phone – a clip which later caught the eye of the deputy’s higher ups after the family posted it to social media.
Upon releasing the footage Sunday, the office went on to distance themselves from the deputy, saying in a statement that they had ‘taken action’ against him after deeming his behavior ‘unacceptable’ and had ‘accepted his resignation.’
DeSue was a two-year veteran of the force, and police said they had had issues with him before. They have also maintained that the ex-deputy’s behavior was not racially motivated, seeing that Washington is African-American.
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A Florida sheriff’s deputy has resigned after shocking body camera footage showed him holding a pregnant mother at gunpoint during a traffic stop last week, threatening to shoot her as her three kids cowered inside the car
The frightening encounter transpired late last Friday, and saw Ebony Washington pulled over by the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Deputy while driving from Gainesville to Jacksonville
The nightmare began when Desue spotted Washington speeding, and attempted to stop the vehicle by activating his cruiser’s lights.
Washington would go on to turn on her hazard lights and slow down, but continued to drive for several minutes, saying she was trying to pull over in a well-lit area to ensure her three children in the backseat felt comfortable.
As they slowly drove down the stretch of road, the deputy then commanded Washington to pull over on his loudspeaker, the bodycam footage released by the department over the weekend shows, hurling already aggressive threats at the woman.
‘Pull the vehicle over, or I’ll put you into the ground,’ DeSue can be hear saying in the chilling clip.
Upon coming across a gas station road stop, Washington eventually pulled to a stop, exiting the vehicle with her hands raised attempting to peacefully explain her side of the story to the deputy.
Desue, however, appeared to take no care toward Washington’s account of the events – even after she told him that she was four months pregnant and that she had children in the car.
Washington, a mom of three who is four months’ pregnant, insists that the deputy’s comments and behavior was racially motivated – a claim the sheriff’s office argue was not the case
As Washington exited the vehicle, Desue immediately drew his service weapon and pointed it in her face.
‘Your excuse means nothing to me right now, I don’t want to hear it,’ he tells the mom, as her kids recorded the encounter. In that clip, one of the children can be heard hysterically crying as their mom is held at gunpoint by the officer and eventually handcuffed.
‘You make any movement that will be the last mistake you ever make, do not move,’ Desue says in the bodycam footage as he restrains Washington.
Shortly after, he can be heard telling her, ‘I ain’t worried, I got my gun.’
After restraining Washington, Desue eventually holsters his gun, as the visibly scared mother, who conceded that she was speeding, continues to try to tell her side of the events.
‘I’m trying to tell you the only reason why I didn’t stop,’ Washington says at one point during the encounter. ‘I’m a very educated woman with a master’s degree.
‘I was only not because it’s dark out and I have three kids with me. I’m pregnant, and I did not want them to feel uncomfortable.’
Desue, however, who appeared to be inexplicably angry and short-tempered in the now viral footage, was unconvinced.
‘I don’t care about the why, shut up,’ he told the handcuffed mom. ‘Shut up about the why. Don’t care about the why.’
Washington was eventually given a speeding ticket and left the scene, but has since retained legal representation as a result of the incident and is considering filing charges.
‘I let him know “I’m pregnant sir. I’m four months pregnant,”‘ Washington tearfully recounted during an interview on Good Morning America Sunday, shortly after the Bradford County Sheriff’s office announced that Desue was no longer with the force.
Washington told the station that she feared for her safety during the stop, and that Desue was needlessly rough and intimidating.
‘I felt, like how hard he pulled me, that he would actually like throw me to the ground,’ she said.
She insists that the deputy’s comments and behavior was racially motivated – a claim the sheriff’s office argue was not the case.
‘Not a racial situation at all,’ Colonel and Chief Deputy Brad Smith told a local outlet of the altercation, adding that Desue himself ‘is a man of color.’
‘There was just some level of not responding to his training and continued conversations about how he was handling situations and he wasn’t adjusting to that,’ Smith added.
A spokesperson for the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office told DalyMail.com that Desue’s actions did not align with its policies and called his behavior ‘unacceptable.’
The office added that they have had several issues with him before and that the officer had been on thin ice – but did not specify the nature of those infractions.
‘The last time we had an issue with him, we entered what’s called a ‘last chance’ agreement,’ Smith said. ‘And he basically tenders his resignation.’
The encounter was so tense that Washington told her scared kids to record it on a cell phone. The clip later caught the eye of the deputy’s higher ups after the family posted it to social media, spurring them to take action against the officer (pictured)
‘And if there’s any more issues within a year, the sheriff can choose to accept that resignation and that’s what happened here,’ Smith said.
‘His verbal abuse was intolerable and we weren’t going to allow that at the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office.’
Washington and her attorney John Phillips, however, are not sold on the department’s claims, and say they are going forward with finding justice for the incident, saying they have spoken to the mayor and are still pursuing the issue.
‘Ms. Washington has spoken to the Mayor, who indicated prior issues with Desue. We have since learned he has resigned,’ he said in a statement to Action News Jax.
‘Justice is spelled one way but defined many different ways. This is one step towards justice. While Ms. Washington is regretful for speeding, we are all mindful that it led to a public official acknowledging a problem and an aggressive officer resigning.’