Kendrick Sampson was punched by a Colombian police officer this week during a trip in Cartagena.
The Insecure star, 32, shared video of the incident on Instagram, reposting the clip from his friend Natalia Reyes.
"What @nataliareyesg wrote below is correct. Cartagena is AMAZING but this is the 6th time I was stopped in 5 days," Sampson wrote in the caption for the video. "It happens to Black Colombians often."
"I’m told stopping is policy but what is NOT is they reached down my underwear aggressively, slap my arms 5 times hard, punch me in my jaw and pull his gun on me," the actor continued. "He then cuffed me and dragged me through the streets. I did not resist any legal procedure. Thank u for posting @nataliareyesg & for helping me through this. And to the person who recorded this."
In the video, Sampson can be seen standing with another person and two police officers. One of the officers suddenly punched Sampson, who stumbles and steps back, and then the officer pulls out a handgun. The officer walks closer to Sampson, puts the gun back, and then handcuffs the actor before escorting him and the other person down the street.
In her original post, Reyes, 33, wrote that "everything hurts, not only because he is a friend but because that is the day to day of many, because we got used to this and that is NOT okay, it’s not normal, the police have the right to ask for your ID but they don’t have the right to punch you, dig in your underwear (as happened before someone started filming) and pull a gun on a person who is not committing any crime or offering any resistance, taking him to a station, not wanting to return his ID and even trying to admonish him? What if this person wasn’t filming? When is this gonna stop? It’s time to rethink the use of force."
Sampson, who is the co-founder of BUILD POWER, an organization to advance social change, shared on his Instagram Story that even hours after the incident, he was still dealing with police.
"For those who are asking, I am still with the police. Different police. Their police captains, I think," Sampson said. "They are taking my account of what occurred (supposedly) to 'discipline' the officers."
Sampson said that after eight hours of talking to the officers, he was able to leave and eat something before he found three of the captains waiting at his hotel to get his account.
"I'm tired as f—," he said. "Hope this will be over soon. They are also asking me to confront and identify the officer tonight! I don't trust this s—."
"For anyone asking what you can do from a distance, for now — share the video," the activist added in another Instagram Story slide. "This is a violation of human rights that happens every day with no accountability. At the end of the day… that's my best protection. Visibility."
"My heart hurts for people here, in the U.S. and worldwide who get abused in the shadows (or in broad daylight with no accountability) and don't have that protection," he added.
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