A Black pregnant woman was ticketed by Texas police for walking on the wrong side of the road while her white husband remained unbothered, according to a now-viral video detailing the interaction.
Brad Townes and his wife, Akia, were out in their neighborhood in Groves, Texas, just two houses down from where they lived on the right side of Madison Boulevard, and were looking for their missing dog when the latter was stopped.
Highlights
- A black pregnant Texas woman was ticketed for walking on the wrong side of the road while her white husband remained unbothered.
- Akia was ticketed for violating the Texas Transportation Code.
- Many people, including the hired attorney, believe it was a racially motivated situation.
“Two cops stopped me,” Akia recounted to KFDM. “They walked out with their hands on their guns, and then they asked me to see my ID.”
Perhaps noticing the situation could go sour, her husband pulled out his phone and started filming, saying, “Can’t walk while Black in Groves.”
A Black pregnant woman was detained and ticketed for walking on the wrong side of the road while her white husband walked free
Image credits: Pixabay/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
In the video, a female police officer could be seen talking to Akia before approaching Brad with the traffic law pulled up on her cellphone, stating that under the Texas Transportation Code, a pedestrian must walk on the “left side of the roadway” unless that side is obstructed.
“She was not walking on this side of the road,” the officer said.
“What does it matter?” Brad replied.
When the police said, “It’s a traffic violation,” the husband merely responded with, “No, it’s not.”
Akia could later be heard telling Brad, “They got crackheads, robbers, all this other stuff but they want to arrest a Black person — a pregnant Black woman — for looking for her dog.”
Image credits: Akia Townes/Facebook
Image credits: Akia Townes/Facebook
The couple tried protesting, but the two responding officers called for backup. The Groves Police Department stated four officers ended up at the scene, two of whom were in-field training and shadowing others.
Akia was then ticketed for a traffic violation.
As Brad later sat down with the outlet, he explained, “I feel like they looked and saw an easy target that nobody was going to come and defend and that nobody was going to come help.”
Officers showed them the Texas Transportation Code, which stated that pedestrians must walk on the left side of the roadway unless it is obstructed
Image credits: Smash Da Topic/Facebook
Echoing his sentiment, Akia said it just felt like “an excessive force of power” on their part.
“You could have easily said, 'Hey ma’am,' and I could have explained to you what I was trying to do, but then you threatened my husband and threatened me to go to jail,” she said, adding that she’s since hired an attorney to fight the ticket she received.
She also wrote on Facebook on Friday, April 4, “The excessive use of force on a small black pregnant woman was [too] much, I will forever be traumatized from this situation. I don’t feel safe in my own neighborhood, not from people but from the police department.”
Image credits: Smash Da Topic/Facebook
Her attorney, Langston Adams, remains firmly on her side, believing the incident was racially motivated.
“It’s not a question of whether she was breaking the law,” he told KFDM. “We believe it’s selective enforcement and racial profiling. Why didn’t the husband get a ticket? He was also walking on the wrong side of the road and he’s white. I believe they used her walking on the wrong side of the road as a pretext to stop her.”
Despite these claims, however, Groves City Marshal Chris Robin has addressed any “concerns” that have arisen, reassuring citizens that their department does not tolerate any discrimination in a statement.
He wrote, “We understand the concerns raised regarding recent enforcement actions by our officers and want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and equal treatment for all members of our community.”
Akia believed it to be a case of racial profiling and hired an attorney to protest the ticket she received
Image credits: Smash Da Topic/Facebook
Image credits: Smash Da Topic/Facebook
According to the message, all officers are required to “ensure public safety and apply the law fairly” without any bias or prejudice.
“In this particular case, officers were enforcing provisions of the Texas Transportation Code, a responsibility they are legally and ethically required to perform. Enforcement of the law is not selective, and no one is above it.”
He added, “Allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated through appropriate channels.”
But a statement from the police department assured citizens that it was not a case of discrimination
Image credits: Brad Townes/Facebook
With the video having circulated among countless people, it appears as if the majority believe the officers had no right to ticket Akia.
“It’s kinda insane how this white man is being so openly confrontational with the police, and they’re still continuing to harass a black woman minding her own business and walking,” one person commented on Instagram. “And people still don’t believe white privilege is real.”
Image credits: Brad Townes/Facebook
Image credits: Akia Townes/Facebook
Another angrily asked, “This why people dont go outside anymore what the f*ck is walking on the wrong side of the road? They’re just making sh*t up.”
“Walking on the wrong side of the street hmm?” a third chimed in. “Wonder if they’ll start arresting people for using the wrong water fountain next? There’s no defending this sh*t. Blatant racial profiling.”
Anti-police sentiment, also known as negative attitudes and distrust directed towards law enforcement or individual police officers, isn’t a new phenomenon. It has always floated around, with its roots being traced back to the early days of policing.
Image credits: dechevm/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
But after the m*rder of George Floyd in 2020, where a 44-year-old white police officer named Derek Chauvin suffocated the 46-year-old black American man with his knee, it’s become a crucial topic of conversation once more.
Protests and outrage sparked under Floyd’s name as a wave of racial unrest followed. A surge of anti-police attacks were reported as the FBI stated in 2021, “103 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers [took place] this year, which was an increase of 115% from 2020, and resulted in 130 officers being shot.”
Comments slammed the police department for their actions
