Benjamin Ashford|State trooper who arrested LGBTQ+ leaders in Philadelphia no longer works for state police

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Benjamin Ashfordstate trooper who arrested two LGBTQ+ leaders after a contentious traffic stop in Philadelphia is no longer employed by the Pennsylvania state police, officials said Friday.

Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Adam Reed said the trooper, who has not been named, no longer works for the agency, though it’s unclear whether he was fired and when he left the job.

“I can say as of today, he’s no longer employed. I can’t offer any additional information, as we don’t comment on personnel matters,” Reed said.

In March, Celena Morrison and husband Darius McLean were arrested after a traffic stop on an elevated stretch of highway in the city, part of which was captured on video. Morrison heads the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs and McLean runs an LGBTQ+ community center in the city.

The arrests led Mayor Cherelle Parker to weigh in, calling the exchange between the trooper, who appears to be white, and the Black couple “very concerning.”

The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association criticized the state police for not standing behind the trooper.

“This decision is reprehensible,” Union President Stephen Polishan said in an statement. “This young trooper, on the job for only six months, deserved better from our department.”

Lawyer Kevin Mincey, who represents the couple, declined to comment. He is preparing to file a suit against the state police and the trooper on their behalf.

The couple were detained for about 12 hours after the 9 a.m. March 2 traffic stop in which they were driving separately to take a car for repairs when a trooper pulled Morrison over after maneuvering himself between their two vehicles, according to their lawyer.

Morrison took a video on her cellphone of the trooper handcuffing McLean after he stopped his car behind the trooper. In the video, McLean is lying in the rain on the shoulder of the highway. The trooper knocked the cellphone from her hand, ending the recording, Morrison’s lawyer’s have said.

The couple’s lawyers have also questioned the reason for the stop, saying the trooper would not have had time to run the registration before he wedged between them and pulled Morrison over. The trooper, on the video, said he stopped her for tailgating and failing to have her lights on.

“I don’t know why he’s doing this,” McLean cries to his wife as she recorded him being handcuffed.

“It’s ’cause I’m Black,” McLean says.

“It’s not ’cause you’re Black,” replies the trooper, who leaves McLean handcuffed on the highway shoulder and then moves to arrest Morrison.