TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Police Department continued to push back Monday against an accusation of overly aggressive behavior by officers that surfaced online this past weekend, releasing body camera footage of the traffic stop at the center of the accusations.


What You Need To Know


  • Watch the body camera footage below

  • Traffic stop occurred on Friday, 6/19

  • Chief Dugan said officer remained calm, followed protocol

  • More Hillsborough County stories

The stop in question occurred last Friday. An officer pulled over a car that had been reported stolen.

Joneshia Wilkerson was in that car with another occupant. She said she'd borrowed the car from a friend.

“I was so shocked at the fact that I had a gun pointed at me,” Wilkerson said. “It’s just like that’s the only thing that was going through my head.”

Police said the car was listed as stolen because it was overdue to be returned to the rental car company. Wilkerson said she didn’t like how she was treated.

“Even when they placed me in handcuffs and everything, just how I was treated was completely wrong,” Wilkerson said. “They placed me in a vehicle, sat me in there with no AC, windows were rolled up. I was hot. I told them I had anxiety and PTSD.”

Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan says he stands by the officer’s actions.

“The entire time the officer remains calm, followed protocol, keeping the occupants informed on what was expected,” Dugan said Monday.

Watch the police body camera footage below:

 

 

Wilkerson and her passenger were never charged and were released after police figured out what happened. 

Wilkerson has since backed off social media claims made over the weekend that police put a gun to her head. But she hasn't change her feelings about how she was handled.

“I would’ve respected the officer more if he actually had the gun clutched or anything like that,” Wilkerson said. “Asked me to get out of the car to ensure that I had nothing, and then at that point I knew the officer would’ve possibly put the gun away.”