In August 2024, the Fort Wayne Police Department, Indiana, launched an internal investigation following the controversial arrest of Tyjana Smith. According to Allen Superior Court documents, officers pulled Smith over on August 5 after she allegedly ran a stop sign and briefly failed to stop.
A viral police dashcam posted by @theshaderoomke_ on Instagram captured the routine traffic stop in Indiana and the aftermath. What started as a simple traffic infraction quickly turned into a dangerous physical brawl on the side of the road in a residential neighborhood.
Police originally pulled over 29-year-old Smith after she reportedly ran a stop sign at high speed at night. When officers approached, she refused to cooperate.
She refused to show any type of ID, claiming she had left her purse at a friend’s house, and argued with the officer when she was asked to identify herself. She refused to follow orders when the police officer asked her to step out of her vehicle and continued to look at her phone.
Things spiralled out of control when the officers attempted to force her out of the car. Smith charged at the officers, throwing punches and kicks. The footage shows the officers cussing at her and shoving her to the ground.
She later held a press conference to share her side of the story. “One [officer] proceeded to lay a couple more punches to my face,” Smith revealed. “And that’s when the other officer was like, ‘We need your hands. We need your hands.’ And they had my hands. He was literally holding one arm.”
“I feel like the policies and the police department need to do a little bit better with picking out officers and giving their positions and more of a mental check than they’re doing,” she added.
In a conversation with Wane 15 News, she revealed that she suffered a concussion after the attack. She said, “I feel like the policies and the police department need to do a little bit better with picking out officers and giving their positions and more of a mental check than they’re doing because honestly I feel like the world right now and cops.. it’s not, it’s not looking too good for them.”
View this post on Instagram
Netizens had mixed reactions to the altercation. While some blamed Tyjana for escalating the situation by not cooperating, others ripped into the police officers for resorting to physical violence. “It’s funny seeing cops loosing their (expletive). Not in the bad way. He just mad pissed at her,” one commentator wrote.
A separate user added, “Omg smh how are you going to turn your ticket into a felony smh geez why can’t you just follow orders it’s not that hard.”
“Good work,” said another commentator, lauding the police.
“She was rude from the start. I don’t think people realize how hard it is to put someone in cuffs who doesn’t want to be in cuffs,” one person commented on YouTube.
“I really don’t understand why people just cannot comply. She made her charges a whole lot worse by not complying VS possibly getting the car towed VS having somebody come pick it up. No she chooses to get in the fight with officers ( I’m above the law) and then getting arrested and then getting your car towed,” wrote another.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr individually could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.
