A minor accident Monday afternoon turned into a major incident.
A Lenoir County mother has filed a complaint against the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office and Sgt. Michael Manning regarding his involvement investigating a traffic accident at the corner of Highland Avenue and Pollock Street.
However, a witness to the accident says there are no grounds to the complaint.
Around 5:40 p.m., a bicycle rode by 17-year-old Matthew Lewis and a Toyota Camry driven by 60-year-old Robert Pressly collided on the 600 block of Highland Avenue.
Matthew immediately called his mother, Kimberly Lewis, telling her he’d been hit. His foot was injured in the accident, and Matthew said he and his damaged bike couldn’t make it further than the corner.
Pressly said he had been heading west on Highland when he saw Matthew riding his bike in the middle of the street. Pressly said he moved close to the curb in order to pass him, and honked his horn to make sure Matthew was aware he was there. When they were about halfway down the block, Pressly said the handlebar of the bike hit his side-view mirror.
“He just turned and ran right into me,” Pressly said. “I got out to see if he was fine, he said, ‘I’m good, I’m going home.’ ”
Matthew’s account differs from Pressly’s. Matthew said he checked behind himself twice to see if a car was coming, and didn’t see one. He said when he heard the engine noise, he believed the car was coming from the opposite direction, from the other side of the intersection.
The accident happened when Matthew turned right to head down the sidewalk along Pollock Street. The Lewises believe Pressly caused the accident, but Pressly said Matthew turned into his car. A KDPS report corroborates Pressly’s claim.
“I did not run into that boy,” Pressly said. “Didn’t want to, didn’t mean to. And it’s just turning into a big thing I do not want to get in.”
Moments after the collision, Matthew’s family, who lives nearby on Pollock Street, joined him, and law enforcement arrived at the scene.
“They started cussing at us, and I called 911 and the police showed up,” Pressly said. “There was a big to-do. All of them were hollering at us and stuff. The police finally locked two of them up.”
First reporting were Manning and Kinston Department of Public Safety Ofc. Jay Eubanks. According to Manning’s report, submitted by LCSO Deputy William Shambeau, a woman was in the street talking on a mobile phone, not allowing traffic to move.
Kimberly said one of her daughters, Kia Lewis, was taking pictures with her phone of the incident. Manning said he told her to stand on the side of the street.
According to the LCSO narrative, “Kimberly Lewis then came into the street yelling at me and the female telling her to come to her side of the street and saying, ‘You ain’t got to do nothing, these (expletive deleted) tell you to do. Don’t pay them no (expletive deleted) mind. You come on over here.”
Kimberly has a different recollection of events, starting with Manning getting out of his car in an intimidating manner and yelling sternly at Kia.
“I said, ‘Kia, come on and get out the street — before you get hit, No. 1, and before he tries to take you to jail,’ ” Kimberly said.
After that, Kimberly said Manning began yelling in her face.
“I said, ‘Get your (expletive deleted) hand out of my face,’ because he was pointing his finger in my face,” Kimberly said. “He came off aggressive, to the point — he was just so rude, and racist and not compassionate for the situation. KPD was more compassionate than the Lenoir County (deputy) sheriff was.”
Kimberly continued, “So my daughter (Bianca Lewis) here comes up, and she says, ‘Look, you don’t need to be pointing your finger in my mama’s face.’ He then said, ‘You need to shut up, you need to shut up.’ ”
Kimberly said she instructed Bianca, who is 24, to go back to the house and along with Kimberly’s granddaughter, 4-year-old Ta’Yana Marshall.
According to the Lewises, Bianca was talking to herself about the situation and holding onto the girl’s hand when Manning asked her what she said, and to “shut up and come here.” They said Manning then came from behind and grabbed Bianca by her neck, twisting her around. They said the 4-year-old fell down onto the street in the process.
“He’s choking her, he’s turning red,” Kimberly said. “I ran to him and said ‘No, you don’t do that.’ I’m running to get my daughter, and he pushes me. My reflexes went back to him when he pushed me. Then my fiancé grabbed me, and that’s when Kinston police came to restrain me.”
Manning’s report says he and KDPS Capt. Milton Kivett advised everyone to stop cursing, or they would be arrested for disorderly conduct.
According to the narrative, Bianca continued to spew obscenities towards the authorities.
The report states Manning told Bianca he was arresting her for disorderly conduct and grabbed her arm to place her in handcuffs. It went on to say she started pushing and hitting him, and Kimberly came up to pull him off her. The report mentions Kivett took Kimberly into custody, while Eubanks took Bianca into custody.
Kimberly said when they were cuffed, but before they were put in the patrol cars, Manning held up a can of pepper spray to the faces of her, Bianca and Kia, threatening them to say something with the intention of spraying them, which he didn’t do.
LCSO Chief Deputy Chris Hill said he found that allegation hard to believe, as he would have been notified of such actions following the incident.
“They would have called me and told me of something like that,” Hill said.
He added, “It seems like everybody wants to blame law enforcement for their problems. Every time they get arrested, they want to cause a diversion or create a diversion. I’d have to question why somebody would want to say all of that stuff.”
Kimberly and Bianca are both charged with assault on a government employee and disorderly conduct. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Pressly said from his vantage point, law enforcement officers on the scene were in the clear.
“Two or three ladies got really out of hand,” he said. “They were hollering and screaming at me and my wife. Called my wife a whole bunch of names, saying they were going to beat her up. Then they were hollering at the cops.
“The police didn’t instigate nothing. I don’t know what happened to it.”
Kimberly said she and her family have no problem with law enforcement. Her late husband, Gregory, was a member of the Greenville Police Department. He died in 1998. She also heaped praise on the Kinston police officers in general and Eubanks in particular.
Kimberly also said that while she’s filed a complaint against the LCSO, she’s looking at filing suit in federal court on the matter. The family has not yet retained legal counsel.
Kimberly and Bianca are due in court on the charges April 2. Eubanks issued no citation in the vehicle accident.
Wes Wolfecan be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.