For the second time in a month, Armen Henderson, a Miami area doctor, is making headlines in the Miami Herald. In the past, he was highlighted for his work testing the homeless for COVID-19. This time, he’s been handcuffed by the police just outside his home in Miami, Friday morning.
According to Henderson, he was unloading boxes from his van to be collected curbside. From a video released, which we cannot be able to display here, Henderson was seen wearing a nose mask during the encounter, whereas, the cob was not.
Henderson revealed that the officer told him he was patrolling the area after receiving complaints of people dumping refuse. Henderson further said he told the officer that he was just unloading his van but was handcuffed because he didn’t show him identification and turned back towards his van.
“He said ‘you should refer to me as sir, or sergeant when talking to me.’ I never said I was a doctor. But I didn’t cuss. He just grabbed my arms and cuffed me,” Henderson narrated.
However, he said the officer released him after he had asked his wife to bring his identification.
Meanwhile, Miami police told the Herald that Henderson had not called the department to issue complaints, though they promised to send an investigator to look into the matter carefully.
“I just got accosted by police. Why would I call them?” Henderson said on the reason why he had no intention of calling the police department.
In a March 28 story by Miami Herald staff writer, Joey Flechas, Dr. Henderson was featured about how he and dozens of volunteers from three nonprofits had been patrolling Miami downtown area to test the homeless for COVID-19. Additionally, the group also provided camping tents to the homeless.
Henderson replied to Flechas at the time that volunteer efforts were acts of “civil disobedience,” meaning they were defying an order from Miami-Dade County’s mayor to stay off the streets.
