Race

whose life was the cop who pulled a gun on this black woman changing her license plate trying to protect?

May 17, 2017

Another erratic white police officer, Matthew Janish, is under investigation after pulling a gun on a 45-year-old North Carolina black woman, Tonya Jameson, who was changing her license plate.

Jameson had recently purchased the vehicle, which was solicited in a Craig’s List ad, after test-driving it on that same day, April 28. On May 3, Jackson arranged one-way transportation to Jefferson City to pick up the new car she’d already registered in her name. She was attaching the plate to the SUV right outside the seller’s home when Janish, who was off-duty, approached her and identified himself as such before drawing his gun out. On her blog, Jackson wrote, “I turned slowly with my hands up. I explained that I bought the car the previous week. He didn’t lower his gun. He’s the seller’s son-in-law, a Knoxville cop, and lives across the street.” Jameson said that despite offering to show the bill of sale for the car, Janish ignored her and instead called 911, keeping the gun drawn until a Jefferson County deputy arrived.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the deputy and off-duty cop refused to let Jameson open her bag to produce the bill of sale or to look in the bag themselves. Instead, the police asked her about the taxi she took to the property, suggesting some robbery/accomplice situation.

After confirming the sale of the car with the seller’s daughter (the off-duty cop’s wife), the Jefferson County deputy let her go. Jameson has since filed a complaint with Knoxville Police Department as well as Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig, who basically told her to walk it off.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor

 

Photo via Tonya Jackson

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