A Black doctor who was hailed weeks ago as “a hero” for giving homeless people coronavirus tests, was detained and handcuffed by police outside his home in Miami.
The incident incited a huge public backlash and an internal investigation by the police chief is underway to determine the justification for the Black physician being accosted by law enforcement.
In the video released by Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, Dr. Armen Henderson is seen loading a van when a police sergeant pulled up across the street. Henderson was loading up more material to deliver to the homeless in downtown Miami, ABC News reports.
After conversing with Henderson for a few seconds, Henderson is placed in handcuffs and detained.
The video also shows a woman, who has since been identified as Henderson’s wife, emerge from the home and hand the officer what appears to be an identification card. The entire episode was captured by the Hendersons’ home security camera.
Henderson is an internal medicine physician with the University of Miami Health System, ABC News reports.
Even though the police chief said the matter was under investigation, he told the public through the media that Henderson was reported for allegedly dumping illegally.
What incensed Henderson defenders is the fact that they believe he has been racially profiled, which the police chief said he does not tolerate. But Henderson has been lauded for his selflessness and altruism for testing homeless people for COVID-19, which was covered by NBC 6 a few weeks earlier.
Check out the video of the matter in question:
