11/15/2020
A local incident of racist, homophobic police brutality.
Please read their story, donate if you can, and share so that they can support themselves and fight back.
Original Post (CW: police brutality):
"On Wednesday October 28th at approximately 9:50pm, we passed an officer on Skippack Pike on our way home to meet our tow truck driver that was dropping off Lance’s car that had broke down on the side of I-476 S. When we passed him, his lights were already on and he was outside of his vehicle on the passenger side talking to someone. We turned onto the street that the GPS routed us to, Collegeville Road, and were on this road for about a mile when suddenly a car that was speeding comes up behind us. This is when the officer turned his lights on again and pulled us over. We stopped immediately and turned on the hazard lights. The officer approached the car to tell us that he pulled us over for our passenger headlight that had just gone out, he then added in that it seemed like we were speeding to try and get away from him. He then called for backup, an ambulance, and a tow truck to arrive. When we said we were going the speed limit he started raising his voice with us. Lance was trying to call his mom as we were telling the officer that he has stress induced epilepsy and that he needed a second to calm his nerves. Lance’s mom didn’t answer the phone and the officer proceeded to point a taser gun at lance and shouted at him to get out of the car. The officer also began to unbuckle Lance’s seatbelt. Lance began to cry, because of the gun shaped weapon pointed at him and the fear of his life being at stake, and we both continuously tried to tell the officer that Lance had epilepsy, and Lance called his dad at this time and said “they’re going to kill me”. Lance and his dad were begging for Lance’s life while the officer continued to scream at us and tell us that he was going to tase Lance. The officer reached an ungloved hand into the car, then threw Lance’s phone into the backseat of the car. As the officer tried to rip Lance out of the car. I (Dennis) rose my voice to try to be heard by the officer, but the officer had already decided what he was going to do to us before he even spoke to us. I was instructed to get on the ground “or else”. Reluctantly, I got on the ground while an officer that arrived on the scene forced me in handcuffs. I tried speaking with the new officer about Lance’s epilepsy and for a moment he genuinely made me believe he was listening to me. He then went over to the first officer to help him rip Lance out of the car, they were yanking him by his feet, ripping his shoes and socks off. I stood up and approached the trunk to try to speak to the officers that were standing by the driver’s side door. The arriving officer pointed his taser at me and screamed in my face to get on the ground. He pressed his elbow or knee into my shoulder blades and told me that I had to listen or I would regret it. The officers then tased Lance. The original officer told us many times how we were going straight to prison. I was immediately put into the back of the police car after my cuffs were tightened. I was told that none of this had to happen if we weren’t so hostile. The ambulance and tow truck, along with more officers arrived on scene. I genuinely thought they had killed Lance right in front of me. The medics got him in the ambulance and I didn’t see much of him for a few moments. The original officer finally read me my Miranda rights, to question me about what drugs Lance was on. As I tried to tell him that Lance wasn’t on drugs, he has epilepsy and was just tased, the officer shouted at me that he knows for a fact that Lance doesn’t have epilepsy and that I should figure out a new story to tell. Mind you, this same exact officer had pulled us over a few months prior and failed to find something wrong with us then, it’s as if he’s been stalking us to get his revenge. He said that it doesn’t matter what we think we know about the law, that we just have to shut up and listen to everything they tell us to do. Then they tore apart the car to look for drugs even though they had no permission to do so, or a warrant. But all an officer has to do is say “I smell weed” and he has an excuse to do whatever he wants. Lance was put in the back of the police car with me (he was never offered to go to the hospital to be treated properly) and we were asked what valuables we had in the car that we would need, after telling him I needed my wallet, the officer refused to get it for me. We were taken to the station and I (Dennis) was put into a dark room and had my legs cuffed to a bench with my hands still behind my back. Lance was given an arbitrary exam and told that if he didn’t agree to have a blood test done right then and there, they would suspend his license. We were forced to sit there and wait while the arresting officer told us we were going to prison, and the other officers continuously played the dash cam footage, laughing at our trauma. We could overhear the other officers asking why the arresting officer was throwing all of these charges on us, like domestic violence. The arresting officer was also moving paperwork around so the other workers couldn’t process anything. He wanted to do whatever he had to to make us suffer. The arresting officer repeatedly told me how well he was going to sleep that night, knowing he didn’t do anything wrong. How it was our fault that things played out how they did. How I (Dennis) am lucky that “I wasn’t tased or worse”. We weren’t given the right to call anyone but luckily Lance’s mom came and they were shocked that someone was there for us. She told them that she knew what happened, and suddenly the officer told us we were being released. The officer took Lance’s fingerprints and sent him out the door. Then he came to take my fingerprints and my hands were purple without any feeling due to my cuffs being so tight. As he was taking my fingerprints he again told me how well he was going to sleep, knowing he didn’t do anything wrong. He was also sure to remind me how he deals with “people like us” all the time, and if it were up to him we would be going to prison. He told me how lucky we are to be going home and how I should think about that before we try to fight what happened in court, or else what’s coming for us would be way worse. The next day, we tried to go the police station with Lance’s mom to file a report against the arresting officer for his blatant brutality. In the station we didn’t even feel safe, a police station, where people should feel the safest. We still feared for our lives. The supervisor on duty didn’t introduce himself or carry any paperwork, just a notepad. He left the room before he took our report after he asked Lance’s mom for her middle and she lightheartedly asked why he needed it. We waited at the station for an hour before we asked the secretary how much longer we would have to wait. The secretary stated that the supervisor refused to take our report because we weren’t cooperating with him. We asked for him to come out again but the secretary said he was busy with something else. We said we would wait for him to come out again as it was our right to report what had happened to us. Eventually the supervisor returned to the lobby with an attitude. This man was so rude and condescending because he knows how crooked their station is, and he made it clear that he doesn’t care to hear what we have to say. We had to leave the station without our report even being heard. The trauma we still suffer is eating us alive. I (Dennis) have to take medication to calm my nerves and I have to see a therapist to help me cope with what happened. Lance has experienced issues from his job because along with the recent loss of his brother being murdered, his boss refused to believe that what happened to us was real, he just called him a “f*cking liars”. He said that the hardships Lance and I have been facing are too inconvenient for him. We’ll have more details about Lance’s workplace out soon. Lance has scheduled an appointment with his neurologist and a therapist to make sure he is physically and mentally healthy. Words can’t describe how broken and ridiculed we feel. We’re sad and angry. This has truly been the most terrifying night of our lives because we didn’t know if we were going to survive or not. We didn’t know if we would be able to see each other ever again. We didn’t know if we would be able to see our family or friends again. The fact that both of us are alive is a blessing in of itself. Now we are struggling financially, we have bills and rent to pay and we still don’t know if Lance has been fired from his job or not, the only thing we know is that one of the owners told Dennis’ mom that “Lance has been indisposed”. Dennis is the only one working right now but both of us still don’t have reliable and safe transportation. We need to get Lance’s car fixed along with a new car. Right now we can use the support of those around us more than anything. Any donations would be more than appreciated. Please, share this post. Tag news stations, tell your coworkers, help us make our voices heard. We are not going to cower and sulk because we were the victims of a small minded man’s power trip. Not only is this an act of hate because of the color of Lance’s skin, but towards both of us because we’re a gay couple. We’re not going to idly stand by while these disgusting officers continue to treat people like they are less than nothing. We’re going to fight this with every ounce of our power, and we will not be defeated again. We are not the only victims of police brutality, but we want as many people as possible to stand with us, to scream at the top of their lungs with us, to fight with us, and to make sure this never happens again to anyone!"
Police Brutality is all over the news, and it has terrorized us in our… Lance Nathaniel Kearney Jr. needs your support for Police Brutality- This is our story
