Twenty-three-year-old beauty queen Carmen Ponder was arrested and charged with evading arrest this weekend after avoiding a swerving truck on a road. The truck, however, was being driven by Hunt County Police Chief Kerry Crews.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Ponder said that she was driving to a Walmart when she was cut off by a black truck driving erratically. She explained that the truck was driving in and out of lanes and made several sudden stops. She feared it was a drunk driver and drove around the truck before turning into the store's parking lot.
She said that the truck then pulled in beside her, Crews got out and began screaming profanities at her. He told her that he was teaching his 14-year-old daughter how to drive and that Ponder should not have driven around their truck. Ponder informed him that it was illegal for a 14-year-old to be driving and turned to walk into Walmart. According to Ponder, Crew then shouted back at her, "Oh, whatever, you black b*tch!"
As she walked out of the store an officer in plain clothes approached her with his badge and began yelling at her. He said that she upset the police chief and should apologize. Ponder declined and continued walking to her car. She said that the officer then grabbed her arm and told her she was being detained. Other officers then arrived in plain clothes and claimed she was evading arrest. She was then handcuffed, taken into custody and held for 24 hours before being charged with evading arrest.
Charges were ultimately dropped but Ponder's attorney said that they are requesting the chief be fired and assault charges be filed against the officer who grabbed and bruised her.
Crews disputes Ponder's account, saying that it was she that approached him and that she "failed to comply with [Crews'] requests." As a result, she was arrested for "evading arrest or detention."
