“I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to get shot if I sneeze, if I fall,” Jamie Rodgers tells Inside Edition.
A California man was pulled over by police armed with assault rifles after a dealership that lent him the vehicle mistakenly reported it stolen, according to a lawsuit the man has filed.
Jamie Rodgers was on his way to work driving a loaner car while his own vehicle was in the shop having extensive repairs. The car Rodgers was driving had been reported stolen by a Kia dealership in Orange County.
Newly released dashcam video shows police pulling Rodgers over and telling him he was considered armed and dangerous. “Do exactly as I say or you could be shot,” the officer told him.
Rodgers complied and was told to pull up the collar of his shirt to reveal his waistband. With his shirt covering his head, Rodgers walked backwards. He says he did not know why he had been pulled over.
“It was terrifying,” Rodgers tells Inside Edition. “I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to get shot if I sneeze, if I fall. I got my shirt over my head, I’m walking blindly. They’re gonna take me down, they’re gonna kill me.”
While Rodgers was being detained, his wife, Natalie, says the dealership told her they reported the car stolen because their loan agreement had been misplaced.
“I’m thinking ‘Oh my gosh my husband who I know is innocent, who happens to be Black, has been pulled over for a felony stop,’” Natalie Rodgers tells Inside Edition. “Every thought was going through my mind. How was he treated? Was he thrown to the ground? Is he in jail somewhere? I was terrified for him.”
The parents of two young children shudder to think what could have happened if their kids had been in the car.
“I’m so grateful my kids weren’t there,” Jamie says.
The couple says the incident, which happened three years ago, has left Jamie with PTSD whenever he drives.
They are now suing the dealership. The dealership denies their allegations.
“He could have easily lost his life that day,” Jaime’s attorney Scott Harlan says. “The police report was never necessary.”
The loaner agreement had reportedly fallen behind a filing cabinet.
Jamie says the incident caused him to lose his job as a personal trainer because he says he could no longer concentrate and was having flashbacks when he sees police. He now works in real estate.
