Dashcam video released showing arrest of Princeton professor who claimed on social media her 'blackness is not incidental to this matter'
BYLAURA BULT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Friday, February 12, 2016, 10:32 AM
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A black Princeton professor’s claims on social media that she was denied a phone call or text while getting arrested for an unpaid parking ticket were confirmed by dashcam footage released Thursday.
Imani Perry, an African-American studies professor at Princeton, was arrested on Feb. 6 after Princeton, New Jersey, police officers pulled her over for driving 67 mph in a 45 mph speed zone.
Cops discovered Perry’s license had been suspended from a 2-year-old unpaid parking ticket and put her under arrest, telling her to leave her car on the side of the road.
The footage shows the male arresting officer telling Perry, "What you're going to have to do is come with us, it's $130, so if you have that money we'll be able to post and we'll be able to get you right back out,"
IMANI PERRY VIA FACEBOOK
Princeton professor Imani Perry was arrested on Feb. 6 because her license was suspended due to a 2-year-old unpaid parking ticket.
The dashcam video was made public Thursday afterPlanet Princetonrequested its release through New Jersey's Open Public Records Act following Perry's social media posts about the arrest.
Perry initially claimed that it was a 3-year-old ticket, when she posted about the incident which she believed to be race-related.
“The police treated me inappropriately and disproportionately. The fact of my blackness is not incidental to this matter,” Perry wrote ina Facebook postfollowing the arrest.
PRINCETON POLICE DEPARTMENT
The officers deny her a phone call at first, saying Perry can "make as many phone calls and texts as you want" once they get to the police station.
Perry's claims that she had been denied calling or texting someone to let them know she had been arrested were proven by the dashcam footage — officers tell her, instead, that she can "make as many phone calls and texts as you want" after they get to the station and cordially tell her that they'll have to handcuff her while they transport her.
The public posts of her arrest drew an impassioned response from the university community.
“Many on our campus and around the country have expressed understandable concern about the arrest this past weekend of Professor Imani Perry, who is a respected scholar and beloved teacher at this university,” Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement to the The Princetonian.
lbult@nydailynews.com
BYLAURA BULT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Friday, February 12, 2016, 10:32 AM
SHARE THIS URL
A black Princeton professor’s claims on social media that she was denied a phone call or text while getting arrested for an unpaid parking ticket were confirmed by dashcam footage released Thursday.
Imani Perry, an African-American studies professor at Princeton, was arrested on Feb. 6 after Princeton, New Jersey, police officers pulled her over for driving 67 mph in a 45 mph speed zone.
Cops discovered Perry’s license had been suspended from a 2-year-old unpaid parking ticket and put her under arrest, telling her to leave her car on the side of the road.
The footage shows the male arresting officer telling Perry, "What you're going to have to do is come with us, it's $130, so if you have that money we'll be able to post and we'll be able to get you right back out,"
Princeton professor Imani Perry was arrested on Feb. 6 because her license was suspended due to a 2-year-old unpaid parking ticket.
The dashcam video was made public Thursday afterPlanet Princetonrequested its release through New Jersey's Open Public Records Act following Perry's social media posts about the arrest.
Perry initially claimed that it was a 3-year-old ticket, when she posted about the incident which she believed to be race-related.
“The police treated me inappropriately and disproportionately. The fact of my blackness is not incidental to this matter,” Perry wrote ina Facebook postfollowing the arrest.
The officers deny her a phone call at first, saying Perry can "make as many phone calls and texts as you want" once they get to the police station.
Perry's claims that she had been denied calling or texting someone to let them know she had been arrested were proven by the dashcam footage — officers tell her, instead, that she can "make as many phone calls and texts as you want" after they get to the station and cordially tell her that they'll have to handcuff her while they transport her.
The public posts of her arrest drew an impassioned response from the university community.
“Many on our campus and around the country have expressed understandable concern about the arrest this past weekend of Professor Imani Perry, who is a respected scholar and beloved teacher at this university,” Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement to the The Princetonian.
lbult@nydailynews.com
