Mayor Parker says video of state trooper detaining top city official is ‘very concerning’

A Pennsylvania State Police trooper detained and arrested a top Philadelphia official and her husband on Saturday after a traffic stop on the Vine Street Expressway, state police said, in an incident captured on video and posted on social media.

Celena Morrison, the city’s executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs — who videotaped a portion of the police encounter — can be heard saying, “He just punched me,” apparently referring to the trooper moments after he walked toward her.

“That’s my husband. That’s my husband, please,” Morrison yells while filming the traffic stop. “I work for the mayor! I work for the mayor!” The trooper can be heard telling Morrison to “shut the f— up.”

In the video, posted to Facebook Reels on Saturday afternoon, the person whom Morrison identifies as her husband is seen lying on the ground on the highway’s shoulder as the unidentified trooper grabs the husband’s wrists and restrains them behind his back. At one point, Morrison’s husband pleads and screams, “Please! Somebody help.”

LaTasha Morrison Sinclair, who identified herself as Morrison’s sister, identified the husband as Darius McLean, who is chief operating officer at the Philadelphia-based William Way Community Center and director of the Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center.

A spokesperson who answered the phone Saturday afternoon at the Philadelphia headquarters of the Pennsylvania State Police said the two were being held at the Police Detention Unit (PDU) in Center City. The Inquirer was unable to reach Morrison on Saturday.

» READ MORE: Morrison is believe to be the first open trans person to lead a city office

In a statement, released Saturday evening, the state police did not identify Morrison or her husband by name. The state police said two Philadelphia residents, ages 35 and 51, were arrested for resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct, and related charges.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker confirmed in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Morrison was involved in a traffic stop by a state trooper. Parker described the 90-second video clip as “very concerning.”

“A video circulating on social media that depicts a portion of the incident is very concerning to me, and I will have no further comment until the investigation has been completed,” Parker said.

According to a state police news release, a trooper stopped an individual driving a gray Infiniti sedan at about 9:10 a.m. on I-76 after the trooper observed “multiple vehicle code violations.” The trooper had yet to make contact with the driver when an other person drove up in a green Dodge sedan and parked behind the trooper’s patrol car, the release said.

“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 the driver of the Dodge, the driver of the Infiniti approached the trooper and “interfered with the trooper’s attempt at making an arrest,” state police said, adding that both were arrested and charged. It was unclear from the news release whether Morrison was driving the Infiniti that the trooper had initially pulled over.

In the video clip, the trooper yells at McLean, “Put your hands behind your back.” McLean, prone on the slick highway shoulder as cars drive by, replies, “OK! They are!”

Morrison, while taking the video, is heard telling the trooper that the person is her husband and that she works for the mayor.

“Please just stop,” McLean says to the trooper, adding: “It’s because I’m Black.”

“It’s not ‘cause you’re Black,” the trooper shouts.

“Yes it is!” Morrison says.

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

The trooper walks toward Morrison and shouts, “Turn around!” A slight scuffle can be heard and the rest of the clip captures only audio, with the gray sky as the background.

“He just punched me,” Morrison says. “What is going on? Why are you so aggressive?”

Morrison became executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs in 2020. Before that, she served as a commissioner of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Morrison also served as the director of programs at the William Way LGBT Community Center and worked as a community engagement specialist at the Mazzoni Center, the city’s largest LGBTQ health agency.

According to his LinkedIn page, McLean, who earned an undergraduate degree from Temple University and a master’s from Saint Joseph’s University, has more than a decade of experience working with young people in the LGBTQ community.

“His work consists of acting as a passionate advocate for increased access to culturally significant health care both locally and nationally,” his LinkedIn page says.

At-large City Councilmember Rue Landau, the first openly LGBTQ member of City Council, called the video “deeply disturbing” in a social media post on Saturday.

“The footage is alarming,” Landau wrote. “As we wait for more information about the incident, my office and I will continue to stay in touch with the Parker administration, the state and other city officials to ensure transparency and to investigate further.”

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.