CITIZEN’S COMPLAINT

North Carolina Cops Mistakenly Handcuff Innocent Teacher at Gunpoint

Teacher Jasmine Horne was met by police at gunpoint outside of her home and detained in handcuffs for approximately 15 minutes. But she wasn’t the suspect.

A police review board in Charlotte, North Carolina, plans to investigate a citizen’s complaint against officers who handcuffed a teacher at gunpoint after mistaking her for a suspect in a stabbing incident last June. The teacher, Jasmine Horne, was targeted by police due to a misspelling of the name of the actual suspect. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tracked Horne’s car and met her at gunpoint in front of her house before detaining her in a police vehicle in handcuffs for about 15 minutes. At a hearing scheduled for May, the Citizens Review Board—which rarely rules in favor of citizens over police—will interview witnesses and rule on whether Police Chief Johnny Jennings’ was correct in not punishing officers. The board’s unanimous vote to investigate the case points to the possibility that the board thinks there’s enough evidence against the police department’s decision not to pursue disciplinary action against the responsible officers.