Man claims deputies harassed him during traffic stop
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A traffic stop in southwest Houston quickly escalated into what one man claims is harassment. The incident was caught on camera, and now the Harris County Sheriff's Office has opened an investigation.
In the video that Torrance Valentine recorded on his cell phone, you can hear the deputies using all sorts of profanity, including the n-word. He says they also damaged his car while searching for drugs
The traffic stop happened on February 11 at the Falls of Bellaire apartment complex off of S. Dairy Ashford.
Valentine says he wasn't breaking any laws when two Harris County deputies pulled him over.
They alleged that his car smelled like weed, then searched for the drugs but never found any.
Activist Quanell X held a news conference outside of the sheriff's office Wednesday afternoon. He's calling for these two deputies to be fired.
"Because it's these kinds of cops that prevent the community from having good relationship with police officers and prevent the police from having a good one with the community," he said. "So that's why Sheriff Garcia should demonstrate that this type of attitude and mindset has no place in the Harris County Sheriff's Department."
The Sheriff's Office released a statement late Wednesday afternoon: "The evidence has been immediately turned over to our Internal Affairs Division for a full investigation. The deputies involved in the traffic stop will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation."
This video is 12 minutes long, and believe it or not, it even includes one of the deputies making up a song about Valentine making babies just to get a bigger income tax check.
