A Texas beauty queen claims a police chief called her a “black b---h” following a road-rage incident and then had her wrongfully arrested.
Carmen Ponder, a 23-year-old paralegal, was arrested and charged with evading arrest after a confrontation with Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews turned hostile on Saturday.
"She feels humiliated and embarrassed because she's Miss Black Texas 2016,” Montana Bunn, a paralegal for attorney S. Lee Merritt, who’s representing Ponder, told the Daily News Thursday. “To be dragged through the mud for a legal issue and being arrested, it’s hindering her emotionally, her title and career path.”
On Saturday, Ponder was on her way to a Walmart when she said she noticed a black truck driving erratically. The driver cut in front of her, she said.
Commerce Police Chief, Kerry Crews allegedly called Ponder a “black b---h.”
(Commerce Police Dept. )
She then drove around the truck before pulling up in the store’s parking lot. The truck pulled up beside her, and Crews began yelling profanities at her, she said in a Twitter post.
Crews told her he was teaching his 14-year-old daughter how to drive and that she shouldn’t have driven around them, Ponder said.
She told him “it’s illegal” to have a 14-year-old drive. As she walked to the store, Crews yelled, "Oh whatever, you black b---h!”
When she came out of the store, a plainclothes officer approached her and told her that Crews was his police chief and that she had better apologize to him.
Ponder refused to do so and started walking back to her car. The officer grabbed her by the arm and told her she was being detained.
The city of Commerce issued a statement disputing Ponder’s account and said Crews has been placed on administrative leave. A third party is investigating the incident, the city said.
Merritt is calling for the chief’s firing and his client’s charges to be dropped. It wasn’t clear whether she plans to sue the chief or the police department
This site uses cookies to help personalize content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.