New Video Shows Arkansas Trooper Punching Passenger After 130 MPH Chase
Newly released video and incident reports provide a detailed account of a chaotic high-speed pursuit in northeast Arkansas that ended with a state trooper punching a passenger after the fleeing vehicle was finally stopped.
Trooper Theodore Henderson of the Arkansas State Police rammed his patrol car into the suspect's 2023 Infiniti QX50, then shattered the rear driver's-side window with a baton, grabbed a backseat passenger and punched him twice in the face, according to police videos and reports.
The chase began shortly after 11:21 p.m. on Arkansas 18, where Henderson said he clocked the SUV going 82 mph in a 60 mph zone near the Big Lake bridge. Henderson said he activated his lights, but the driver accelerated to 113 mph and then 130 mph. The trooper reported going beyond 140 mph to keep up.
Blytheville police laid spike strips near County Road 239. The SUV hit them but kept going, ran a red light at Arkansas 18 and Arkansas 151, and started losing air in one front tire. Henderson's first attempt to stop the SUV was ineffective; a second maneuver sent it over a curb at North 16th and West Walnut streets, where it came to rest.
Police identified the driver as Adonerus Johnson, 25. Henderson said Johnson moved from the driver's seat to the rear and tried to get out through a back door. Gosnell Police Cpl. Cade Liles pointed a weapon at Johnson and ordered him to lie down, then used a Taser on him several times before Johnson was handcuffed. Johnson later provided two breath samples that measured 0.17, and he now faces charges including felony fleeing, first-offense DWI, reckless driving, resisting arrest, and speeding more than 15 mph over the limit.
Henderson then focused on Tedrick Washington Jr., 23, a Blytheville resident and former Division I basketball player who was in the back seat. Video shows Henderson ordering Washington to get out before breaking the window with a baton. Henderson reported that Washington said he could not get out and did not obey repeated orders to crawl out. The trooper grabbed Washington's left wrist and pulled some of his hair. When Washington pulled his arm back and braced against the partially opened door, Henderson said Washington "postured up" as if to attack, and Henderson hit him with a closed fist on the left side of his face.
Henderson then pulled Washington from the vehicle and took him to the ground, striking him a second time on the left cheek as Washington was being handcuffed. Liles said Washington tried to fend off officers and reached toward his waist several times. Washington bled afterward. Pafford EMS evaluated all three individuals. The released records do not show anyone was hospitalized. The front-seat passenger followed officers' commands and was released without charges.
Washington was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental operations. He claims he was complying and intends to sue, theGrio reported Saturday. In the footage, Washington briefly raises his hands in the back seat before the window is broken.
A Gosnell Police Department document shows Liles' use of a Taser, display of his firearm, and hands-on force were deemed justified under departmental policy. That review focused only on Liles, not Henderson. The released records contain no state police administrative ruling on Henderson's use of force or Washington's statement.
The case is at least the second high-profile use-of-force incident involving an Arkansas trooper in the past month. On Aug. 1, Trooper Moisses Arellano was videotaped punching 18-year-old Alisa Hackett in the face after a traffic stop. Hackett has sued, and Black lawmakers have demanded answers. Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar declined to testify before the Legislative Black Caucus, citing pending litigation, though he offered to meet legislators privately. The release of the latest footage is likely to intensify public pressure on the agency over transparency and officer accountability.
Online reaction to the Washington video has been split, with some calling the punches excessive against a passenger whose hands were visible, and others pointing to the extreme speeds and the officers' accounts of noncompliance after a violent stop.
Anyone charged is presumed innocent until proven guilty.