MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A video showing Memphis police in an altercation with a suspect has gone viral.
It happened Monday at the Rayford’s All-N-1 Hot Wings restaurant in South Memphis. The restaurant's owner got it all on video.
Rayford’s All-N-1 Hot Wings owner, Kevin Rayford, said it didn’t take long for an incident with Memphis police to escalate. They were trying to detain a man at Rayford’s restaurant. Rayford got the fight on camera, leading many to wonder what led to the incident.
“As I came in, the young man was already here. He had a complaint. It was respectfully. We resolved his issue really fast,” said Kevin Rayford.
He and the man, identified as Erio’N Walker, 22, had been speaking for about 20 minutes about making life changes. Rayford let Walker use his phone. That was moments before police came into the restaurant.
“The officer asked me, ‘Hey, Rayford. I’m here to talk to you about a burglary that happened,’ maybe three months ago,” said Rayford.
While one officer spoke with Rayford, the other was speaking with the cashier.
“The other officer with the red hat on was questioning the cashier about the young man that was in the building,” said Rayford.
He said as Walker tried to leave the restaurant, the officer boxed him in and asked for ID.
“He was like, ‘Man, what did I do? The officer started feeling on his pockets and he did like this. When he did like that, it was over. That’s what escalated the whole thing,” said Rayford.
It was an escalation that was triggering for him.
“I felt every blow. It actually made me relive some run-ins that I’ve had with the law,” said Rayford. “I’m from the streets. I’ve been to prison two times. I changed my life in 2000. I never had a run-in with the law since. I go around speaking to the youth.”
Rayford said watching everything unfold was painful.
“It’s hurtful. It’s hurtful," he said.
Despite reliving his own trauma, Rayford hopes for a solution.
“I have no ill feelings towards the police department because I understand the police. It’s not all Memphis police,” said Rayford. “I know we have to respect authority, but it’s all about how you approach these young people.”
The youth are very people Rayford is committed to reaching.
“This has ignited me all over again. I’m ready to get back active in the community to educated these young brothers on situations like this and how to handle it," he said. "Nobody told them. We come up in a different era. These young kids need to be educated on how, when officers approach them, how to still remain respectful when they’re not being respectful.”
We did reach out to Memphis police regarding the incident. They said they are looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Walker is charged with resisting official detention and had warrants for aggravated assault and vandalism.
We also filed an open records request for information on the arresting officer.