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WALLS, Miss. – A Walls, Miss., man says he was held at gunpoint and handcuffed by Southaven police after Memphis officers failed to report that his stolen car had been recovered.
The Southaven Police Department released body camera video to WREG of the encounter with its officers at Highway 301 North and Stateline Road in Southaven on April 11.
Bryson Davis says he was in downtown Memphis with friends on April 8 when someone stole his keys and his 2021 Hyundai Sonata. Davis reported it stolen on April 9 and the same day he found the car on Madison Avenue.
“I started looking into how to find my car through an app or something and I found that it could be connected via Bluelink on my phone and I located my car myself, and I contacted MPD” , Davis said. “I contacted MPD before I got there and told them the location of the car.”
Davis said police took some fingerprints off the gas cap, and because he had a second set of keys, he was able to drive the car home.
“They made it tough,” Davis said. “They damaged the outside of the car, big dents. They appear to have hit several posts and curbs.”
But the condition of his car was the least of his worries two days later, when Southaven police officers pulled him over.
“I immediately think it was still stolen under the system because there’s no reason for me to be arrested,” Davis said.
In the body camera video, you can see an officer pointing a gun at Davis’ car. The officer tells Davis to get out of the vehicle with his hands up, walk back toward him and get on his knees.
“I was talking as soon as I was handcuffed. I asked the police officers if the case car was stolen, and he said yes,” Davis said. “They put me on the hood, and there were five or six other officers and two detectives.
Davis’ wallet was also stolen and had no identification. In the video, you can hear the officers asking Davis his name and if he owns the vehicle.
“Then 10 minutes later the DMV or somebody sent a picture of my ID and they had to match my identity to my face right there, and then they let me go,” he said.
Davis said it all ended well, but he was shocked when he thought about what could have happened during the traffic stop.
“I could have been scared and moved too fast and got out of the car too fast, and he might have thought otherwise because my car was black and I was wearing black,” Davis said. “I was like, I could have lost my life just because of some stupid things.
Davis’ mother says she got a call from her son after he was arrested and said he was shaking when she reached him. Cindy Pate said the Southaven officers who arrested her son were just doing their jobs. Instead, he blames Memphis police for what happened.
“I think with MPD dropping the ball on doing this, I’m sure a very routine protocol of removing a stolen vehicle from NCIC all of this could have been avoided, and just by a simple task of calling and reporting it has recovered”. Said Pate: “From a mother’s perspective, I feel like I could have lost my son that night.”
During the stop, you can hear an officer telling Davis that Memphis police were supposed to remove his car from the system, but they didn’t. The officer also tells a detective that MPD made a mistake and did not pull the vehicle from NCIC or the National Crime Information Center.
We reached out to the Memphis Police Department to find out why Davis’ Hyundai Sonata was not reported as recovered on April 9, but have not heard back.
Pate said they are considering legal action and believes the officers involved should be reprimanded.
“Fortunately, it didn’t cost my son his life, but it’s been a life-changing situation for him that he’ll never get over,” Pate said.
As for Davis’ car, the car thieves did so much damage within hours that the vehicle had to be totaled.
