PHOENIX — A 29-year-old man and his attorney say Phoenix police used excessive force during an August traffic stop. The incident is now under administrative review.
De'Yante Smith says he was driving near 27th Avenue and Campbell on Aug. 21 to pick up a friend for a night out when a police vehicle cut him off and shined a large spotlight directly into his windshield.
"I throw my hands up because I'm confused because I didn't know there were police at first, so I'm like, I'm thinking somebody's about to hit me head on," Smith said. "I've never been in a situation like that."
Smith says he did not initially realize the vehicle belonged to police officers. He says once he understood it was police and they activated their lights, he immediately pulled over.
According to the police report, officers were on patrol near 26th Avenue and Campbell when they observed a white Mercedes-Benz S550 make a U-turn without warning near Hazelwood Street. The report says several females in the area appeared to be prostitutes and that it is common behavior for people involved in prostitution or human trafficking to circulate an area in a vehicle. As the Mercedes passed the officers, the report says the driver, Smith, yelled out his window, "You can't catch me," prompting officers to follow the vehicle and run the plates. The records check revealed the registration had expired. The report also describes the area as a high-crime zone with a history of homicides, shootings, stabbings, prostitution, gang activity, and drug activity.
Smith denies yelling at officers from his car.
"No, that did not happen." Smith said.
According to the police report, after pulling Smith over, officers gave him multiple commands to roll down his windows. The report says Smith made movements with his hands, leading officers to point their weapons at him. When ordered to place his hands on his head, the report says Smith responded, "No." When ordered to step out of the vehicle, the report says Smith asked why he needed to get out.
Smith says he was never told why he was being stopped.
"They're not telling me anything, so my hands are like this - 'show me your hands, unlock your car, roll down all the windows.' So I'm getting all these different commands," Smith said. "They begin to point their firearms at me as my hands are still like this."
Smith says an officer then told him to unlock his car door, and when he did, the officer immediately grabbed him.
"He grabs me by my hair with two hands and snatches me out the car and then they proceed to punch me," Smith said. "I wasn't told to get out. They pulled me out by my hair."
Smith says he lost two locks of hair during the encounter and sustained bruises on his shoulder and elbow, a scraped chin, and other injuries.
"As I got pulled out by my hair I kind of braced myself cause I felt myself going to the ground and as soon as I go to the ground, I'm getting punched in my neck, I'm getting punched in my body," Smith said.
The police report tells a different account of what happened once officers opened the car door. According to the report, Smith pulled his arm away from officers and resisted, at which point an officer grabbed him by the hair to pull him from the seat for officer safety reasons. Once outside the vehicle, the report alleges Smith attempted a double-leg takedown on one of the officers "a grappling move used in wrestling and MMA" wrapping his arms around the officer's legs.
The report says an officer then delivered approximately seven closed-hand strikes to Smith's body and one strike to the side of his head before Smith released his grip and was placed in handcuffs. According to the report, one officer sustained abrasions on his right hand and left middle finger during the struggle.
Smith flatly denies the report's account.
"I was never pulled out by my arm. I never snatched away. I never kicked. I never grabbed anybody's ankle. Like none of that," Smith said. "I've never been an MMA fighter, so it says in the report I did an MMA, tried to do an MMA double leg takedown. I don't even use that terminology, so I never did anything like that."
Smith's attorney, Sean Woods of Mills and Woods Law, also questioned the report's account of the struggle, pointing specifically to a detail in the police report in which an officer says he drew his weapon again during the struggle because he heard a loud object hit the ground and feared a gun had fallen. The report later acknowledges the object turned out to be another officer's radio.
"You're clearly out of body control to the point that your equipment is falling off, but the other officers involved don't have enough awareness to know that the loud noise was one of their fellow officers' equipment," Woods said.
Woods also disputed the overall framing of the police report.
"They write it from their perspective and they're allowed to add fluff to it and some hyperbole and that's exactly what happened here," Woods said. "He's not a criminal. He's not a prohibited possessor of a handgun. He has legal rights to have weapons just like any of us do in Arizona."
"What really stuck out to me is they didn't address why they were pulling him over and they immediately went to aggression and an escalation of force which was unnecessary," Woods said.
A witness captured some video of the incident from a distance. Police body camera video has not yet been released. The police report's body camera review notes the entire altercation from the first command to roll down windows to Smith being handcuffed lasted approximately 69 seconds.
Phoenix Police told us Smith was arrested for illicit drugs and prohibited possession of two handguns. According to the police report, an inventory search of Smith's Mercedes found a loaded 9mm handgun in the center console alongside a plastic baggie containing three yellow and three purple powdery tablets. Another pistol was allegedly found inside a backpack in the backseat. The report says criminal records checks revealed Smith was prohibited from possessing firearms, but the Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirmed to ABC15 that Smith is not a prohibited possessor.
MCAO also told ABC15 that it received a submittal in the case, saying some charges were furthered back to law enforcement for additional investigation, misdemeanor charges were referred to the city prosecutor, and the weapons charges were turned down because Smith was not a prohibited possessor.
Smith was also accused of driving under the influence, something he denies. He was taken to the hospital for his injuries and later booked, and transported to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office jail, where he says he spent approximately 36 hours.
One question Smith says he cannot answer involves the six powdery tablets police say they found in his car.
"I'm not even sure because I had just picked up my vehicle. I have multiple vehicles, I'm not sure," Smith said.
Smith says beyond his physical injuries, the stop also cost him property that has not been returned — including a chain, a Rolex-style pendant, a belt, his phone, his keys, and other items from a coach bag. Smith says he owns a junk removal business he has operated for 4 years and that the loss of his phone set back his ability to communicate with clients.
Smith and Woods say they have received virtually no communication from Phoenix Police despite filing complaints and requesting body camera footage.
"Practically zero," Woods said of the communication from police.
Smith says he also believes race played a role in the stop.
"I feel as though race did play a role in this because of how they already knew who was in the car prior to pulling me over," Smith said.
Phoenix Police confirmed the incident is now part of an active administrative investigation by the Professional Standards Bureau.
Smith's arrest came one day before two different Phoenix Police officers were arrested in connection with a separate traffic stop in which they allegedly assaulted two people in south Phoenix.
Woods said he is worried there may be a pattern.
"I want there to be awareness to this issue because who knows how long it's been going on and who knows how many people are too scared to come forward with these types of things," Woods said.
Smith says the experience has shaken his trust in law enforcement and left him with lasting mental and emotional effects.
"I genuinely felt like I could have lost my life that night because of how things went," Smith said. "If it could happen to me it could happen to anybody."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as a preferred source on Google below:
