Dr. Armen Henderson, who was handcuffed like a criminal for providing free COVID-19 tests for homeless people in Miami, Florida has spoken.
Henderson, 34, was handcuffed by a police sergeant in front of his own home on Friday, April 10 as he loaded a bus with supplies he said he wanted to give to the homeless.
However, the officer relaxed and removed the handcuff after the doctor’s wife came out of their home and showed the officer his identification card.
A video of the incident went viral, fuelling age-long debate about racial profiling of blacks by Caucasian police officers in America.
Reacting to the experience, the internal medicine physician at the University of Miami Health System said his greatest concern was that the police officer was not wearing protective gear during the encounter.
According to ABC, the incident occurred 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.
“He put me at risk. 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,” ABC quoted him as saying.
Furthermore, Henderson lamented that the situation could have got out of hand if his wife was not around to de-escalate the tensed situation.
Watch video:
A Black doctor in Miami, A HERO, who has been testing the homeless for COVID-19 because "the state is failing to protect them" was racially profiled and detained outside his home while he was unloading his van.
HIS NAME IS DR. HENDERSON.
KNOW HIS NAME!pic.twitter.com/1FPazevsfL
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) April 14, 2020
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Meanwhile, Colina said he has ordered a full investigation into the incident.
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