By Bill Hutchinson—April 12, 2020
An African American doctor, who has been battling the coronavirus pandemic in his hospital and on the streets of Miami, was detained and handcuffed in front of his own home by a police sergeant as he loaded up his van with supplies he says he planned to take to the homeless.
Dr. Armen Henderson, an internal medicine physician at the University of Miami Health System, said his biggest concern about the up-close encounter was that the Miami-Dade police sergeant was not wearing a protective mask when Henderson says the sergeant got “all up in my face,” Henderson told ABC News on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Friday, just three days after Miami-Dade Police Chief Jorge Colina announced that at least six of his officers had tested positive for the coronavirus and another 125 had been quarantined pending test results. In a video statement, Colina pleaded with the public to help protect his officers, saying, “Please, stay inside, adhere to social distancing, wear a mask or a cloth face covering and be responsible. We’re here for you. Please do your part for us.”
Henderson, 34, said obviously the sergeant who handcuffed him didn’t get the chief’s message.
MORE: US close to coronavirus peak, but we have to take it ‘day by day’: FDA commissioner
“He put me at risk,” Henderson said. “Now I feel like I should get tested, honestly. Most likely I will because he definitely was spitting in my face. I could feel it while he was yelling at me.”
Henderson alleges the sergeant detained him because he is black.
Colina said he has ordered an investigation of the incident.
Police did not release the sergeant’s name, but video footage of the encounter taken by a security camera outside Henderson’s home shows the sergeant did not seem concerned about social distancing and appeared to get face-to-face with Henderson while pointing his finger at the doctor’s face.
Read more at Yahoo.
