Torture survivor says police aggression triggered his response
Wooden says he was held although no one was injured and no property damaged
By News Channel Nebraska
FALLS CITY – A man recognized as a survivor of torture in Mexico is calling on Richardson County authorities to drop criminal charges against him including felony operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest.
Ronald Wooden, 53, is a United States national with permanent residence in Mexico. He said he was driving a truck with Mexico license plates in Kansas when he was stopped by law enforcement. He alleges that officers brandished firearms and were heard saying ‘get out of the truck you (deleted) Mexican.' He says there was forceful banging on window glass.
Wooden said the threatening language and force of arms triggered his post-traumatic disorder that he developed for having been tortured. He is charged in Richardson County with willful reckless driving, but said his reaction to the police aggression was not willful. He said it was the result of a condition that is recognized internationally as a handicap.
Wooden: “I don’t willfully run from law enforcement. When threatened, when they pull guns and use discriminatory statements, I fled bodily harm. … I literally feared for my life and I fled tyranny.”
Wooden is scheduled for a court hearing on July 31.
https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/48933441/mexico-torture-victim-objects-to-nebraska-court-proceedings