In a clear case of walking while Black, cops in Wynne, Arkansas, accosted a Black man Monday afternoon as he was walking through an apartment complex with his friend to get to a store, tasering the young man and arresting him on multiple charges. All because D’Terrious Smith, 20, refused to pro vide identification, which was his right. Wynne police initially accused Smith and his buddy, Alonzo Holmes, of smelling like marijuana, which is long-used excuse by police to detain Black people, whether it’s true or not. Holmes began recording to Facebook Live after several cops began surrounding Smith. Holmes also said in the video that the cops initially approached them and asked Smith if he was another Black man by another name. He began recording when the cops stepped out of their patrol cars to surround his friend. ‘I Can’t Stand Up, Y’all Just Tased Me’: Black Man Tasered and Arrested for Walking While Black through Apartment Complex “Why is you all stopping me?” Smith asked in the opening of the video. “Right now because you smell like marijuana,” one of the Wynne police officers claimed. “What’s your name?” “Stop lying,” Smith responded, confident that he did not smell like weed even though medical marijuana is legal in Arkansas. Then a second cop asked if they lived in the apartment complex they were walking through, accusing them of loitering, pointing to a sign that said, “loiterers will be prosecuted.” Arkansas Loitering Law Loitering laws in Arkansas are very clear in defining the law as someone who “lingers, remains or prowls” — which was not the case here, as the two young men were just walking through the complex with a clear destination in mind which they expressed to the cops. The Arkansas statute lists several examples of what would be considered loitering but the main definition is as follows: (a) A person commits the offense of loitering if he or she:    (1) Lingers, remains, or prowls in a public place or the premises of another person without apparent reason and under circumstances that warrant alarm or concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity and, upon inquiry by a law enforcement officer, refuses to identify himself or herself and give a reasonably credible account of his or her presence and purpose; Not only were the young men walking in broad daylight, they were not doing anything that would “warrant alarm or concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity.” Walking while Black is not legal grounds to qualify as warranting alarm or concern — despite what cops may believe. And while Smith refused to identify himself, the teens provided a “reasonably credible account of his or her presence and purpose,” telling the cops they were walking to the store and will be walking back home. “We walked to the store and going back home,” Holmes told the cops. “You all don’t smell nothing on us.” Black Code Laws The cops continued with their accusations, with one cop telling Smith he is required by law to provide identification, which is not true. “You’re going to have to identify yourself,” said one of the cops “If you don’t do that, we’ll take you to jail, do you understand?” But according to the ACLU of Arkansas: “Police can’t legally arrest you for refusing to provide your name unless you are suspected of criminal activity or your identification is needed to protect officer safety or resolve the reasonable suspicions that prompted the stop.” It is also important to understand that laws like loitering were enacted during the Jim Crow era, known as Black Codes to harass and oppress recently freed enslaved Black people, allowing them to criminalize Black people who have committed no crime. Police continue to use those laws today to arrest Black people including earlier this year when they arrested a Black man working his job sweeping the exterior of a business in a shopping mall, as well as a 2019 case of arresting several members of a Black family for loitering on their own property. Smith was on the phone with his uncle who advised his nephew that the cops needed to articulate a specific crime he was committing. “Am I being accused of a crime or something,” Smith asked the cops while holding the phone to his ear. “All we need is a reasonable suspicion,” said one of the officers. “Reasonable suspicion going to the store?” asked Holmes. “Loitering,” responded the cop. “You can’t walk through property.” Cursing at Cops is Not a Crime At one point, it appears as if Smith turned to the cops and said a curse word which was when three cops grabbed him and brought him to the ground with one cop tasering him even though it does not look as if he was fighting or resisting, causing Smith to yell out in pain. But cursing at cops is not a crime either. Then after torturing and handcuffing him, one cop orders him to “stand up.” “I can’t stand up, you all just tased me,” Smith responded, clearly in distress. “I can’t f_cking see and sh_t.” “You all just tased me for no reason,” he continued as they tried lifting him up from the ground to place him in the back of their patrol car. The cops then began questioning Holmes but did not arrest him. “We’re just going to the store and going home, bro,” Holmes said. “And then he pulled up on us and asked us for another person.” “When you’re just cutting through property … and there are signs of loitering out here … and the apartment complex asked us to keep people out of here who do not belong here,” one cop tried to explain to Holmes.  “We are allowed by law to contact you and identify you.” But obviously that cop has not read the actual Arkansas loitering statute which defines loitering as lingering, remaining and prowling – which was not the case here. Smith was charged with obstructing governmental operations, resisting arrest, interfering with law-enforcement office, disorderly conduct, assault in the second degree, loitering and possession of tobacco products by a minor, according to online records from the Cross County Detention Center that indicates he remains incarcerated as of this writing, two days after his arrest. Viral Video Holmes’ Facebook Live video has been viewed more than 153,000 times as of this writing and has received more than 500 comments, the majority expressing outrage over the arrest. “If a crime was not committed, they do not have to provide identification,” said commenter Jeremiah D. Davis whose Facebook profile says he lives in Arkansas. “If they were detaining them, it was up to the police to tell them what crime was permitted in order to detain them. If there was not crime, they was absolutely no reason to hold them up.” “For the record, cussing at a police officer is not consider a crime. You have every right to say what you want and they can’t do nothing about it. Seems like buddy feelings got hurt and his last resort was the cuff him and tase him. Poor thing must’ve got bullied in school.” Chris Ingle, another commenter from Arkansas, said, “to say he smells of marijuana isn’t reasonable suspicion.” “They have the duty to determine whether it is legal weed or illegal weed before even suggesting that they have committed a crime,” Ingle elaborated. “Medication is none of their business. Loitering isn’t walking through. At the most, they should have been trespassed from the property and sent on their way. The excessive force EXACTLY like this is what has lead to young Black men dying at the hands of the police. This entire ordeal is bullsh_t.” Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Wynne Police Department, who said they will have someone contact us for comment, so we will update this article if they do. ‘Stop Lying!’: Four Arkansas Cops Repeatedly Change Their Story While Surrounding a Young Black Man Walking to the Store. Then Tase and Arrest Him for Refusing to Provide ID, Video Shows ...read more read less