‘Insecure’ Star Kendrick Sampson Assaulted By Colombian Police Officer

While on a recent trip to Cartagena, Columbia, actor Kendrick Sampson was punched by a Colombian police officer.

The Insecure actor shared a reposted video clip of the incident on Instagram from his friend Natalia Reyes.

“What @nataliareyesg wrote below is correct. Cartagena is AMAZING but this is the 6th time I was stopped in 5 days,” Sampson captioned the video. “It happens to Black Colombians often.”

“I’m told stopping is policy but what is NOT is when they reached down my underwear aggressively, slap my arm 5 times hard, punch me in my jaw and pull his gun on me. He then cuffed me and dragged me through the streets. I did not resist any legal procedure. Thank u for posting @nataliareyesg & for helping me through this. And to the person who recorded this,” he continued.

The video shows four people, one being Sampson and two being police officers. One officer suddenly punches the actor while the other pulls out his handgun. He then proceeds to put the handgun away and handcuffs Sampson and escorts him and the other individual down there street.

In the original post, Reyes wrote, “everything hurts, not only because he is a friend but because that is the day of many, because we got used to this and that is NOT okay, it’s not normal, the police have to the right to ask for your ID but they don’t have the right to punch you, dig in your underwear (as happened before someone started filming) and pull a gun on a person who is not committing any crime or offering any resistance, taking him to a station, not wanting to return his ID and even trying to admonish him? What if this person wasn’t filming? When is this gonna stop? It’s time to rethink the use of force.”

Sampson later updated his followers on his Instagram story hours after the incident. “For those who are asking, I am still with the police. Different police. Their police captains, I think,” he said. “They are taking my account of what occurred (supposedly) to ‘discipline’ the officers.”

After eight hours talking to the officers, the actor was able to leave and get something to eat before he found three different police officers waiting in his hotel room to hear his side of the story.

“For anyone asking what you can do from a distance, for now – share the video. This is a violation of human rights that happens every day with no accountability. At the end of the day… that’s my best protect. Visibility,” he added. “My heart hurts for people here, in the U.S. and worldwide who get abused in the shadows (or in broad daylight with no accountability) and don’t have that protection.