Explosive new details have emerged in the viral case of Black trucker Joseph Joines, who was brutally ambushed and his dump truck flipped by a group of white men at a North Carolina landfill.
His attorneys announced a federal lawsuit during an Aug. 13 press conference, claiming the landfill and the Sheriff’s office violated his civil rights.
Videos of the altercation sparked widespread outrage, but what wasn’t caught on film was just as shocking, according to attorneys from the Raleigh-based firm Mattheson & Associates, who are also representing Angelica Hendon, a second defendant in the case.
Hendon, a fellow trucker, claimed the men pointed a gun at her and corroborated Joines’ account.
@noturningback_98 Press conference today the truth must come out !!! I know everybody wants to know my side of the story. Well, here’s your chance to hear today. Please ignore all those fake narratives about me today. You will hear the truth press conference at 2 PM in Raleigh, North Carolina. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/press-conference-regarding-racially-charged-assault-on-truck-drivers-involved-in-hurricane-helene-cleanup-efforts-302526906.html?tc=eml_cleartime #justice #fyp #tbddump #clydenc #SEEYOUTHERE ♬ original sound – BossedUpp Ent
“Let me be clear: Mr. Joines and Ms. Hendon are not just victims of assault. They are victims of a system that failed them,” lead counsel Moseley Matheson stated. “A system where private violence was followed by official indifference, where power was abused and the basic principles of due process and civil rights were trampled.”
On June 26, both Joines, 27, and Hendon, 29, were helping to clean up debris from Hurricane Helene and had arrived at the TBD landfill in Clyde with dump trucks full of mulch. As was previously reported, Joines alleged that TBD employee Andrew Ferguson wrongly accused him of stealing his cellphone.
A series of disturbing events soon unfolded as he was followed by a group of five white men, including a local sheriff’s deputy and Ferguson, who he said threatened him with a gun.
He claimed the men bashed on his truck, called him “boy,” and tried to pry open the door, before a bulldozer suddenly hit his truck head-on, and threw him across the cab, causing neck and back injuries.
@noturningback_98 Here is the full press conference. This should clear up all the confusion and give you guys the full story! Again thank you for all your love and support. Peace and blessings upon!#fyp #justice #fullpressconference #thetruth #realjustice ♬ original sound – BossedUpp Ent
“I also felt my churner moving, and I realized another bulldozer had tipped it on its side. I was right on the edge of a steep embankment, and I thought that they were going to kill me,” he said at the press conference, still visibly shaken.
After the man who identified himself as the sheriff’s deputy slammed the door on Joines’ dog (which can be heard yelping in one of the videos), the trucker said he made a run for his life with his pup. He spotted Hendon’s truck in a staging area across the field.
“Once I got into Angelica’s truck, Andrew [Ferguson] came with the same group of men and pointed the gun straight at us,” he stated at the press conference.
Hendon said after pointing a gun at them, Ferguson reached into her truck and grabbed the keys out of the ignition.
“I was in fear for my life and extremely upset when I ordered Joe out of my truck, so that TBD employees would leave me alone,” Hendon said.
“I showed up that morning to do my job, to make a living so I can support myself and my son,” she added. “I did not ask for this.”
According to Hendon, the offending employees flipped the story and accused Joines of “hijacking” her truck.
After some confusion, Hendon called 911, and an ambulance eventually arrived and gave Joines a neck brace. The Hawyard County Sheriff was also “present at the scene but left with no charges brought,” said Joines’ attorneys.
Joines is understandably haunted by that day. “It has changed my life. I’m having problems sleeping, experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, and have been unemployed since this incident,” he said. “I want peace, I want to be able to work and make a living. I did not deserve to be treated like this. Nobody should be treated like this.”
Co-counsel Karl Roth believed that the deputy, who was present for the entire event, had an obligation to prevent the violence from escalating and that the sheriff should have brought charges against the group. “It was out of control to the point that it’s amazing that Mr. Joines is standing with us today. I believe you can see the rage in the eyes of the people in that video. He was seconds away from being shot.”
Great Job Grace Jidoun & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
