North Carolina Woman Opens Her Door at 3am. Then Gets Handcuffed by Police as They Barge Into Her Home: ‘Gonna Keep You Up All Night’

A woman in Greenville, North Carolina, was reportedly woken up in the early hours of the morning when police officers allegedly knocked on her door and requested a copy of her Ring camera footage as part of a shooting investigation. However, when the woman, identified as Uniquea Teel, failed to hand over the footage, officers reportedly barged into her home and detained her.

The incident occurred around 3:20am on Aug. 18, when Greenville Police Department officers responded to a report of shots fired around Teel’s apartment at 3240 Moseley Drive, per WITN. Reportedly, three bullet holes were found on a window just a couple of doors away from Teel’s home. According to the officers, the shots nearly hit two young children in the living room, although no one was injured.

The officers knocked on Teel’s door to see if her Ring camera recorded any footage related to the shooting. However, Teel claimed her camera couldn’t record anything, as it was “dead.”

Greenville police entered her home and took her phone

In the Ring camera footage shared by Teel on Facebook, the officers can be seen questioning Teel’s claims that her camera wasn’t working. One male officer can be heard telling Teel, “What do you mean it’s dead? It’s working,” before eventually leaving.

Not long after, a different officer, identified as Jennifer Umphlet, came and also requested camera access from Teel. “I’m explaining to them that my camera is not working and it’s currently on 10%,” Teel told the news outlet. “It’s dead, so it’s not gonna get any footage, any recording of what’s going on.”

In the video, Umphlet can be heard telling Teel to pull up the camera feed and prove it wasn’t recording. “Pull it up and show me that it’s not working, and I’ll leave you alone. Otherwise, I’m ripping it off the wall, writing a search warrant, and I’m gonna keep you up all night,” Umphlet said.

When Teel failed to do so, the officers reportedly entered her home and handcuffed her for “not cooperating with an investigation.” According to Teel, the officers walked to her bedroom in search of her phone despite her telling them she had a sleeping baby. While she was detained, the officers allegedly held up her phone to unlock it using facial recognition and searched the device for the footage.

The officers were unable to find any footage regarding the shooting incident and asked Teel if she had deleted anything, to which she responded no. After some time, they returned Teel’s phone.

According to Teel, she and her daughter were left traumatized, and her trust in Greenville’s police officers was broken by the entire ordeal. “I don’t even know what’s going on. I was awakened up out of my sleep for this. Why are y’all looking at me as if I’m part of whatever is going on?” Teel said.

The officer was put on administrative leave

The Greenville Police Department released a statement following Teel’s Facebook posts. They confirmed that the officers were investigating a shooting and that “officers were attempting to obtain security footage from a nearby apartment.”

“While we have not received a formal complaint, we take any concerns about the conduct of our officers seriously. For that reason, the Greenville Police Department has initiated an internal review of the interaction,” the department said.

The department added, “The Greenville Police Department will look closely at the circumstances surrounding the encounter and the actions of the officers involved to determine whether they were consistent with department policy and training.”

Police Chief Richard Tyndall said, “We have started an internal affairs investigation to make sure that we get all the facts involved. Obviously, that’s one side of the story.” Reportedly, the primary officer involved had also been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.

This incident brings into question what constitutes a lawful detainment. According to the Law Office of Jordan Marsh, the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, and a warrant is usually needed. However, officers can temporarily detain someone if they suspect the person is involved in unlawful behavior, or, in this case, obstructing an investigation or destroying evidence.

That is not to say that Teel was obstructing the officers’ investigation by denying them evidence. According to criminal defense attorney Tyrell Clemons, Teel’s case is likely an unlawful search and seizure after reviewing the videos shared.

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