Yesterday, a young black man–an 18 year old college student–was detained outside of the Citibank at 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. According to an official statement by MPD today:
The initial call was for a suspicious person, three subjects may be trying to rob people at the ATM. The location for the call was 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave SE. Officers in the area responded to the assignment. One individual fled on foot from the police, was chased, and then taken down. The individual resisted, and was handcuffed while resisting after he refused to stop. The person making the video was interfering with police, and was also detained while the incident was investigated. Neither individual was arrested.
The video, however, shows a fairly aggressive take down of a young man who was apparently simply getting cash out of an ATM when a couple at the bank felt uncomfortable. He was taken in but then released without being charged.
HU student Jason Goolsby was arrested after taking money out of the ATM. Witnesses say he was racially profiled. pic.twitter.com/Vky1f4e8ZB
— DC Maryland Virginia (@DMVFollowers) October 13, 2015
Fellow students gathered today at the Blue Castle–home to the Richard Wright School for Journalism and Media Arts PCS at 8th and M Street SE–to march to the Citibank in protest of the assault, calling for #JusiceforJason.
A former teacher of Jason, who took to Twitter to defend him and describe him as “literally one of the sweetest boys I’ve ever had the honor of teaching,” tweeted:
Jason’s friend who was recording the arrest and tackled to the ground? His name is Mike Brown. Let that sink in… #JusticeForJason
— Erika Totten (@2LiveUnchained) October 13, 2015
As we get more details, we will update this post.
Updated 10/13/15 10:30pm: According to The Washington Post, Jason, a UDC Freshman and graduate of the Richard Wright School for Journalism and Media Arts PCS, “said that he ran only after a police cruiser nearly hit him — he believes intentionally — and that officers who caught him ‘threw me on the ground.'” The Post also reported that the “Robbery Fear” tweet that garnered much attention–as people asked how there was a justifiable fear in this instance–was in regards to an incident two hours after this altercation. D.C. Police are reportedly reviewing the facts around the incident to ensure that all procedures were properly followed.