PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 The arrest of two of Philadelphia\u2019s LGBTQ leaders by a state trooper during a fraught highway traffic stop is \u201cvery concerning,\u201d the city\u2019s mayor said after a video showing some of what happened circulated on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Celena Morrison leads the city\u2019s Office of LGBT Affairs and is a top aide to Mayor Cherelle Parker. Morrison\u2019s husband, Darius McLean, runs a community center. Both are Black, while the Pennsylvania state trooper appears to be white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why he\u2019s doing this,\u201d McLean cries to his wife Saturday morning as she records him being handcuffed, lying on his side, on the shoulder of the elevated highway during a rainstorm. Cars pass by a few feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018cause I\u2019m Black,\u201d McLean says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not \u2019cause you\u2019re Black,\u201d replies the trooper, who leaves McLean handcuffed on the highway shoulder and then moves to arrest Morrison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTurn around! Give me your hands or you\u2019re getting Tased!\u201d the trooper tells her as she says she works for the mayor. She apparently drops the phone at that point, and the video shows only the gray sky above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Morrison, 51, and McLean, 35, were detained on obstruction and resisting arrest charges after the 9 a.m. traffic stop. However, District Attorney Larry Krasner did not immediately file the charges while he investigates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA video circulating on social media that depicts a portion of the incident is very concerning to me,\u201d the mayor said in a statement, adding that she will wait until the investigation concludes before saying more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State police, which patrol the state highway that cuts through the city, declined to identify the trooper, but said he was put on restrictive duty Monday and will not be on patrol while the incident is investigated. The trooper\u2019s patrol unit does not yet have body cameras, and the agency declined to release dashboard camera video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the cellphone video posted online, the trooper says he stopped Morrison for tailgating and not having lights on. McLean, chief operating officer of the William Way LGBT Community Center, apparently pulled over in a second vehicle and was arrested after allegedly arguing with the officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you want to get tased? Put your hands behind your back!\u201d the trooper shouts as he stands over him on the roadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey are! They are!\u201d McLean cries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who you are so I don\u2019t need someone rolling up on me,\u201d the trooper says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is my husband … That\u2019s my husband, please,\u201d Morrison can be heard saying out of view. \u201cI work for the mayor. I work for the mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morrison, who is transgender, has held the position since 2020, staying on when Parker took office in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way Center, called the traffic stop \u201cunjust\u201d in a post on the group\u2019s social media site and said the center \u201cwas working with officials to remedy this terrible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n