Photo Courtesy of Nashville Police
On March 12, a Black woman in Tennessee was fatally wounded after a traffic stop gone wrong, Hot New Hip Hop (HNHH) reported. Thirty-one-year-old Nika Holbert was pulled over by Josh Baker, a Metro Nashville police officer. Baker flagged the Black Chevy Camaro after discovering multiple warrants were attached to the registered owner. The registered owner, Demond Buchanan, was not in the vehicle with Holbert at the time of the event, the publication reported.
According to bodycam footage, the stop took a contentious turn when Officer Baker asked Holbert to come to the back of his car and stop attempting to rummage through her purse.
“I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot, okay,” Baker said to Holbert after he inquired what she surreptitiously took out of her purse after he told her to “stop going through it.”
*Warning* The video footage is graphic.
Holbert responded that she didn’t take anything out of the purse and seconds later expressed concern that she was pulled over and didn’t understand why.
The video skips ahead to Officer Baker going through Holbert’s purse, holding up an unidentified object that Holbert said was a part of her therapy. The officer pulled out what appears to be a small baggie similar to those used in packaging small amounts of drugs. At that point, when Baker asks Holbert to turn around, Holbert responds, “No, don’t put me in handcuffs.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” she continued.
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From there, the harrowing chain of events escalated with Holbert running around the car, re-entering the automobile, and being tased while she screamed for help.
According to HNHH, The police officer grabbed Holbert by the arm and placed the taser directly to her upper left shoulder and tased her again.
She groaned in agony. Mere seconds later, Officer Baker yelled, “Ma’am, put the gun down!”
Six shots were heard being fired on the video. Baker fell to the ground, and Holbert drove away.
According to The Tennessean, the woman crashed into a ditch at an intersection. Police arrived on the scene, and Holbert was transported to Skyline Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Like clockwork, within hours of the shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released Holbert’s adult arrest record, citing requests from “several media outlets.”
Officer Baker is a 14-year veteran police officer and son of a former police captain.
The shooting is currently under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office is also reviewing the case.
Metro Nashville Community Oversight, an independent law enforcement review agency for the city, is performing an inquiry to determine if Baker violated any policies.