Midland, TX — In a dramatic video that has surfaced online, a 90-year old grandmother from Texas can be seen shielding her 21-year old grandson, Tye Anders, from at least 3 police officers who were pointing guns at him. They were apparently trying to arrest him.
The video shows the police instructing Anders to exit his car, but he refused to cooperate at first because he was afraid.
“Upon exiting the vehicle, officers advised the subject to walk towards them to be detained, the subject then stopped and laid on the ground,” Midland Police told News West 9.
Police had their guns drawn while Anders’ family and friends can be heard shouting at police not to shoot him. One said, “Y’all gonna find any reason to shoot because he is Black.” Anders can also be heard saying he’s scared.
That’s when Anders’ 90-year old grandmother walked towards him with a cane and stood next to him. As officers continued trying to detain Anders, his grandmother appeared to fall on top of him.
The video ended with an officer covering the camera.
Anders was taken into custody for evading police and was later released on bond.
According to Midland Police, they tried to stop Anders for a traffic violation, but he continued driving instead until he arrived at his grandmother’s home.
However, Justin Moore, a civil rights attorney who was hired as Anders’ counsel, claimed Anders did not commit any traffic violation yet he was assaulted by police during the arrest.
“Racial profiling and pretext stops have been at pandemic levels in this country for generations,” he said. “This incident falls within this age-old trend of following Black men and arresting them for fabricated reasons.”
The video, which was posted on social media, sparked outrage about the police’s apparent use of excessive force. One person said, “Why the hell do they need several guns, including a shotgun, to subdue a single, apparently unarmed, visibly afraid man that has already submitted and laid down to be cuffed?”