Exhibit 338: Escape Attempt

Exhibit 338 is a view of Letecia and Deputy James. You can see Letecia moving around because her hands are handcuffed to a belly band around her waist and she is manipulating her hands out of those. She obtains a Monster energy can and strikes Deputy James in the face with the full unopened can. Bethel noted several pre-contact cues where Letecia is glancing at Deputy James’ waist area where her gun was kept and ultimately when Bethel assisted she glanced at her waist as well. Bethel took this to be a threat that she was attempting to obtain one of their weapons.

This was on I-70 in Kansas at 75 MPH. Detective Riley was driving. They immediately gave commands to Letecia to stop and Riley pulled over and slammed on the breaks which put Letecia in the back of Bethel’s seat.

This was a dangerous situation due to the location and the charges as well as her trying to obtain their weapon. Riley could not exit the van immediately to help due to traffic.

Exhibit 338 is 21 minutes long

Letecia is stretching her neck and moving around.
She suddenly swings a can toward Deputy James.
They give her commands to stop.
Letecia says “she keeps on threatening me! She keeps on! I have stopped! She keeps on!”
Bethel comes to the back of the van and tells her to put her arm down “I will for you, but she keeps threatening me the whole time!” She keeps saying “I will to you but not for her”
They’re all struggling.
Letecia says “I said I would with you. I’m not resisting, I said I would with her. I’m not resisting!”
There is more struggling.
Letecia says “I’m not even doing anything!”
Detective Riley tells her she just got another charge. Letecia replies “well she shouldn’t be doing me like this”.
They are cuffing her arms behind her back.
“I’m not trying to turn!”
“Could you please untighten it from my hands? It’s on my arms. I’m not manipulating you!”
They are going to call the nearest detention facility.
She asks them to turn the air on. “I asked for help with the air and she’s been nothing but mean to me the whole day”.
She says she can’t breathe. Deputy James puts her in some sort of headlock while Bethel is in front of her. I’m just asking to breathe, that’s it”.
Bethel figures out where they are.
Letecia says “you’re hurting my arm” five times. Deputy James says the harder she pushes back the harder she is going to press. Letecia says it’s not the pressure point it’s her arm bent back behind her.
Letecia is yelling at Deputy James to get off her arm while Bethel gets on the phone and explains the situation.
Letecia says she didn’t try to escape.
Letecia: “I’m opening the door so I could breathe, it’s hot. I asked you to help me but you just lean over and don’t help. I said “hey could you figure out how to turn the air on” and you’ve been nothing but rude to me. She says she didn’t try to escape she legit opened the door so she could try to breathe.
Letecia is just arguing while Bethel and Riley are on the phone.
Letecia is adamant she didn’t try to escape.
More of the same: “I didn't try to escape, I couldn’t breathe. Yes I did. You know that”, “I feel like it’s breaking my wrist”.
Deputy James says the more she fights the worse it’ll get. “If it gets worse it gets worse; I have to go to a hospital ‘cause she hurts me.”
She gives more complaints about her wrist.
“I’m not trying to resist! You’re holding me for nothing! I’m not doing anything! She’s doing that! I’m not turning against me, you’re doing that to me on purpose! I’m relaxed. I’m not doing anything to you! You’re choking me now”. She makes a choking sound.
She’s coughing now.
She is giving the same story about opening the door so she could breathe.