When they pulled me over, they didnt really explain to me, they just pulled me out of my car, Ariel Harrison said.
The McDonough County Sheriffs Office in Illinois is facing fierce criticism after a 31-year-old Black mother of three was held down inside a jail cell and forcibly stripped naked in front of male officers.
Ariel Harrison, who is partially blind, had just left a liquor store and was driving around Macomb County on Oct. 26, 2019, when she was pulled over by police for allegedly driving recklessly. The officers accused her of driving under the influence, but Harrison insisted she had not been drinking. She was put into a squad car but was not handcuffed.
When they pulled me over, they didnt really explain to me, they just pulled me out of my car, Harrison told VICE News.
Harrison said she pleaded with the officers to explain what she did wrong. She claims her alcohol level was never tested and she was tased multiple times before being transported to the McDonough County Jail.
Recently released video shows two corrections officers and a sheriff pointing a taser at her and stripping Harrison after she allegedly refused to undress. Per the report, Harrison continuously asked for privacy and expressed fears of being sexually assaulted.
I had told her that its not right. That he wasnt supposed to be there while I changed, Harrison said about the female officer. She told me, Well, hes here with me. Basically, she didnt really care. I felt like she violated my rights.
McDonough County Corrections officers said they removed Harrisons clothes because she was uncooperative. Instead of giving her the privacy that she requested, the two officers removed her clothes. A third officer restrained her legs by kneeling on them. They left her naked in the cell before returning to give her a cloak to wear.
That stuff happened so fast, Harrison said of the incident. When I watch the video of them doing that stuff to me, Im in shock. Its like I look at them and say That couldnt be me.
Ariels being given multiple, simultaneous, and even contradictory instructions as a disabled driver who is blind in her left eye, DWMC founder Heather McMeekan told VICE News. Shes being told, Put it in park, open the door, unbuckle your seatbelt, give me your drivers license, give me your vehicle registration. They literally give her just a few seconds.
Harrison said the flurry of commands left her shocked and speechless.
I was in shock mode, I guess. I didnt know what to do, she said. I was still trying to process why I was being pulled over exactly when they snatched me up out of their car.
As a former paramedic and trained health educator, I can tell you that was not enough time for anybody to be able to process all those commands at once, McMeekan said. Even under the best conditions, let alone at night, when youre already exhausted from taking care of kids all day, running errands, and then youve got a frightened person who you were just trying to help.