Woman Alleges Delaware State Police Wrongly Held Her At Gunpoint, Shattered Car Window
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- A woman is suing Delaware State Police over allegations of officers using excessive force. She says they wrongly held her at gunpoint.
The victim is a young woman who says it's been over two weeks since she was stopped by the Delaware State Police. Her window is still busted and she says she no longer feels safe driving alone.
Only 20 years old, Martiayana Watson is emotional, but she's pressing for answers.
"No one could tell what's going on, why I had been stopped, why have they ran into me, damaged my car, anything," Watson said.
On June 24, around 530 p.m., Watson says she was leaving the BP gas station on South Heald Street in Wilmington.
Shortly after, several unmarked cars, which she later found out were police officers, blocked her in, allegedly pulled her out of her car and within minutes, she feared for her life.
"Them actually putting a taser to my neck after realizing they still had the wrong person," Watson said.
She says it didn't stop there. Watson says an officer shattered her back window.
"I seen these four trucks, five trucks, white guys -- it's strange to see a bunch of white guys in a Black community -- following her," said Richard Smith with the NAACP.
Little did Watson know, Smith was watching.
"It wasn't the concept of the car, it was the mental abuse that Black people take every day," Smith said.
On Thursday, Watson's attorneys announced they are filing a lawsuit against the Delaware State Police for mistaken identity. According to court filings, police were looking for suspects who robbed a nearby pawnshop.
"The cops were looking for a dark grey Nissan Maxima and I believe Marty's vehicle is a light grey Nissan Altima," attorney Renee Leverette said.
"I did nothing to no one at all and it's just a shame I had to go through this," Watson said.
Watson's attorneys say the officers were not wearing body cameras. Eyewitness News reached out to the Delaware State Police, but we have not heard back.
CBS3's Wakisha Bailey reports.
