TAMPA, Fla. — Joneshia Wilkerson posted a video of an encounter she had with a Tampa police officer last week on Instagram.
“Y'all I got pulled over and this cop is literally pointing a gun at me. He still didn’t put his gun down,” she said in the video. "Sir, can you at least put your gun down?”
Police pulled Wilkerson over last week after they said the car she was driving came up as stolen.
“I ran the tag and it says it was stolen. Just don’t move,” the Tampa officer said to her.
The officer was alone and had his gun pointed toward Wilkerson, but angled down.
“I felt once they figured out I was compliant the gun should have been placed away,” said Wilkerson.
Police said the officer did what he was supposed to do and that they take extra precautions because stolen cars are often used in other crimes.
“The officer put in his gun in a low ready where it’s not pointed directly at the person but its already out and can be used and easily raised if they have to defend themselves,” said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan.
Tampa Police said Wilkerson’s Instagram post misrepresented what happened.
They said the officer never pointed his gun at her head and did not smash her into her car.
But since Tampa Police released their body camera video of the encounter, Wilkerson says she’s been harassed and threatened.
“When they blasted my information out I felt like they were not concerned with my personal well being. I felt completely harassed by the Tampa Police Department,” said Wilkerson.
Police said the car was a rental that was reported stolen and investigators in Pinellas County are looking into that.
Wilkerson wasn’t charged with any crime. She said she borrowed the car from a woman she’s known since high school.
