City LGBT official and husband arrested by state trooper will not face charges at this time, DA’s office said

A top Philadelphia official and her husband who were arrested by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper this weekend have been released from custody and were not charged with any crimes, a spokesperson for the state police said Sunday.

Celena Morrison, the city’s executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, and her husband, Darius McLean, were taken into custody Saturday morning after a confrontation with a state trooper on the Vine Street Expressway. A video of their arrests, captured by Morrison, quickly circulated on social media and appeared to show McLean lying on the shoulder of the highway, begging the trooper to let him go.

“I work for the mayor! I work for the mayor!” Morrison yelled before the trooper can be heard telling her to “shut the f— up.”

The trooper then turns to arrest Morrison and, as the video pans toward the sky, she can be heard saying, “He just punched me.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker called the incident “very concerning.”

State police initially filed several misdemeanor and summary charges against the couple, but the charges were declined by the district attorney’s office “pending additional review,” said agency spokesperson Lt. Adam Reed. The couple were released from custody Saturday evening.

Jane Roh, spokesperson for the DA’s office, said that no charging decisions have been made, but that officials are investigating all aspects of the incident.

Morrison, 51, has been the city’s executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs since 2020, becoming what officials at the time believed to be the first openly transgender person to lead any city office or department. McLean, 35, is the chief operating officer of the Philadelphia-based William Way Community Center and director of the Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center. Neither could be immediately reached for comment Sunday.

State police said that just after 9 a.m. Saturday, a trooper stopped Morrison, who was driving a gray Infiniti sedan, after observing “multiple vehicle code violations.” Reed said Sunday that the car’s registration was expired and suspended, and that its windows were illegally tinted, headlights were not illuminated in the rain, and Morrison was following too closely behind another driver.

Before the trooper made contact with Morrison, police said McLean, driving a green Dodge sedan, pulled up behind them.

“The trooper approached the Dodge and the operator of the vehicle became verbally combative toward the trooper,” state police said. “The individual refused multiple lawful orders made by the trooper and the trooper subsequently attempted to place the individual under arrest. The individual resisted arrest on multiple occasions.”

While attempting to arrest McLean, state police said Morrison approached the trooper and tried to interfere in the arrest.

Video of the incident, shared online by Morrison’s sister, raised questions about the interaction.

In the video, the trooper is seen attempting to handcuff McLean, who was lying on the slick pavement near the highway’s shoulder as cars passed.

“Put your hands behind your back,” the trooper told him.

“OK! They are!” McLean said.

Meanwhile, Morrison, filming the exchange, pleaded to the trooper to let her husband go, saying that she works for the mayor’s office.

“It’s OK, baby, it’s OK,” McLean cried, appearing to be speaking to Morrison.

At one point, McLean said: “Please just stop. It’s because I’m Black.”

“It’s not ‘cause you’re Black,’” the trooper said in response.

“Yes it is!” Morrison shouts from behind the camera.

The trooper, after handcuffing McLean, then can be seen walking toward Morrison, telling her to turn around. The camera pans and the phone appears to fall to the ground. In the background, Morrison and McLean can be heard screaming.

“Give me your hands! Or you’re getting tased!” the trooper can be heard shouting.

“I don’t know why this is happening,” Morrison said. “We ain’t done nothing wrong.”

Reed, with state police, said the trooper was not outfitted with a body camera, as the program “is not yet fully deployed across the state.” He said the trooper’s vehicle was equipped with a mobile video recorder and microphone.

Parker declined to speak further on the matter when approached by reporters on Sunday after an appearance at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Her spokesperson, Joe Grace, said only that the mayor “deeply cares about all city employees, including Celena Morrison.”

Staff writer Michelle Myers contributed to this article.