Soldier receives threats after TPD releases video from traffic stop revealing personal information, ACLU says

TAMPA, Fla. - Back in June, a Tampa police officer pulled over a car that had been reported stolen.

The Tampa Police Department says Joneshia Wilkerson, a 23-year-old single mother who was on leave from active duty in the U.S. Army, was driving.

Recordings from the officer's body camera and Wilkerson's cell phone show both sides of the incidents that followed, but it was the release of that body camera footage that prompted the ACLU to ask for an investigation. The organization says the video was edited to exclude personal information about Wilkerson's passenger and another person, but included details about Wilkerson, including her address and date of birth.

It happened June 18. The officer pulled over a vehicle that was reported stolen after it was not returned to a rental car business two weeks prior.

The officer's video shows him with his firearm drawn, telling the driver, "I ran the tag. It says it's stolen. Ma'am, just don't move."

Meanwhile, Wilkerson's video records her saying "y'all, I got pulled over and this cop is literally pointing a gun at me."

Wilkerson told the officer she borrowed the car from a friend. She was handcuffed and detained, but not arrested.

The day after Wilkerson was detained, she filed a complaint with the Department of Professional Standards about her treatment during the traffic stop. She also posted her video of the incident on Instagram, where thousands watched the events unfold.

In an effort to combat what it called a "false narrative," Tampa PD released body camera video from the incident, however, the video was not edited to remove private information about Wilkerson.

The video was, however, edited to redact personal, identifying information about Wilkerson's passenger and the person from whom she said she borrowed the vehicle.

Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says Wilkerson's privacy rights were violated and is asking for an investigation.

In a letter to Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, the ACLU questions the officer's judgment in pulling his firearm.

"The stop occurred in a residential neighborhood, and Ms. Wilkerson brought the car to a stop in a driveway. Rather than approach the vehicle, the officer stepped out of the car and pointed his gun at her while he called for backup. You know it’s not an exaggeration to say that Ms. Wilkerson, at that point, became afraid of becoming the latest Black American to be killed by a white officer. She had the presence of mind to place her cell phone on her dashboard and record the encounter," the letter states, in part.

The letter also states that the officer gave an account of his actions in contradiction with what the body camera video later showed. The officer said the gun was pointed "in her direction" but at the "low ready."

The video shows the officer holding the gun over his cruiser door, appearing nearly at eye-level.

The ACLU said Tampa Police Department employees posted comments on Wilkerson's video of the incident, stating that her account of the encounter was wrong.

"She perceived these as an attempt to pressure her to remove the video from her Instagram account, but she did not take it down at that time," the ACLU said, adding that the video has since been taken down.

Wilkerson attended a meeting of the Tampa Police Department Citizen Review Board June 23 and described receiving threats from people who obtained her information from the body camera video, which has since been removed from Youtube.

The ACLU is trying to get answers on Wilkerson's behalf.

"We are asking you to investigate whether TPD personnel might have willfully and without authorization used Ms. Wilkerson’s personal information, without her consent, for the purpose of causing her substantial emotional distress without a legitimate purpose in violation of section 817.568(4), Florida Statutes. Though TPD personnel will tell you that they were only countering a 'false narrative' on social media, the publication of Ms. Wilkerson’s name, date of birth, phone number, and home address was not part of the narrative and needn’t have been published. TPD could have combatted what they say is a 'false narrative' without publishing her personal information."

More than a month later, TPD announced Wilkerson had been arrested. Investigators say surveillance video from the rental car business shows a woman who police say is Wilkerson renting the car. The company says they learned the woman paid with a stolen credit card and used someone else's driver's license to rent the vehicle.

It was not clear if the name on the driver's license matched the name on the credit card used to rent the vehicle.

It was also not clear if the officer who pulled over Wilkerson had access to records regarding the investigation into the stolen car at the time when he pulled her over.

Officials did not comment on why Wilkerson was not arrested at the time she was found to be driving the stolen vehicle.

Wilkerson faces felony charges related to the rental car in Pinellas County. If convicted, she could be sent to prison for up to 10 years.

Read the full letter from the ACLU here: