Update (November 26, 2019): The charges against Rodney Gillespie were dropped after the state trooper who gave him a traffic ticket outside of his own home did not show up to court.

State Trooper Christopher Johnson charged Gillespie with failing to drive within a single lane back in July, but Delaware County Judge Kathrynann Durham dismissed the charges when Johnson did not attend the trial, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gillespie, his wife Angela and their 17-year-old daughter Jaida were stopped by Johnson outside of their Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, home after they had recently returned from living out of the country for a few years.

Gillespie’s attorney, Michael Quinn, said they were ready to fight the charge.

“I had my video evidence ready to show the judge, and Rodney was there and ready, and the cop never showed up, no explanation,” Quinn said.

Johnson was cleared of racial bias in September when a dashcam video of the traffic stop was released, but an internal investigation shows that the troopers on scene did violate two departmental regulations.

Gillespie now intends to file a lawsuit in order to prevent a similar incident from occurring again in the future, according to the Morning Call.

“I’m hopeful that this type of action will help prevent this from happening to other innocent members of society, and especially people of color,” he said.

The pharmaceutical executive says Johnson had no reason to follow him and stands by the idea that he was targeted.

“I think I was completely targeted,” he said in August. “This is a very nice, affluent neighborhood. A black guy driving. I guess he thought I was driving by myself, and he wanted to follow and see.”

Original (August 2, 2019): A Philadelphia couple says they are traumatized after a rookie state trooper allegedly violated multiple codes of conduct during a traffic stop.

It was after midnight when married couple Rodney and Angela Gillespie and their 17-year-old daughter Jaida were pulling up to their home in a wealthy suburb after an evening spent in New Jersey. The couple who had been out of the country for years for Rodney's job had just recently returned to the United States.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rodney was driving into his neighborhood in Chadds Ford when he heard sirens and saw flashing blue lights.

With a hand on his gun, trooper Christopher S. Johnson reached into the couple's SUV to turn off the ignition, although the car was already off. Johnson eventually pulled Rodney from his car and placed him in handcuffs.

Johnson, 23, had only been on-duty for two months when he began to hurl questions and insults at Rodney. The trooper immediately asked him why he was there and if he had drugs and a gun.

"It was just a terrifying experience, it was embarrassing, it was just humiliating," Rodney told ABC-6.

Eventually, two more state troopers arrived and began to question a frightened and disoriented Angela who remained in the passenger seat of the car.

“I think the biggest thing for me was sitting there watching and listening to how they treated my husband. The yelling was at a level that was terrifying. My goal was to stay alive,” Angela told The Inquirer.

She also told the publication that she had never experienced racial profiling in other places she'd visited such as South Africa and the U.K.

“One thing my daughter said to me that really killed me was, ‘Dad, I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.’ My daughter should not have to say something like that to me." Rodney said.

Johnson issued Rodney a $142.50 fine for a yellow-line infraction and another $102 fine for not stopping immediately which was later dismissed. Attorney Stretton claims the tickets were written to cover up Johnson's misconduct.

According to a local news station, the family has filed a complaint with state police, who have released a statement saying that they cannot comment on the specifics of the incident. The statement also emphasizes that every cadet in the state goes through a training program titled, "Racial Profiling and Biased Based Profiling Awareness and Prevention."

NAACP representative of the area, Rev. Kyle Boyer, told ABC they are also looking into the matter.

Pennsylvania-State-Police

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