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The 31-year-old said it wasn't a complicated decision to help another human being. But even some of his close friends wondered if he hesitated because of his previous interactions with a few law enforcement officers.
“No. There is value in every human life. We are all children of God, and I can’t imagine just watching anyone burn,” he said. “No matter what other people have done to me, or other officers, I thought, ‘this guy deserves to make it home safely to his family.’”
McLee filed a lawsuit in late 2018 against four Pennsylvania State Police troopers for wrongful arrest after he spent a year in jail related to a March 2016 fight outside an American Legion bar.
McLee had rushed to the bar in Dunbar, Pa., after his sister called saying she needed a ride home because she had been drinking and a fight had broken out. When McLee arrived, he disarmed a man who was standing in the parking lot with a gun and threw the weapon aside.
At least one trooper fired shots at McLee as he fled. The trooper said McLee pointed a weapon at him twice, but security footage showed McLee disarming the man, discarding the gun quickly and fleeing when shots were fired.
McLee, a Black man with tattoos visible on his neck and arms and twisted dreads that reach below his chin, spent a year in jail before a jury acquitted him on the charges after reviewing the video. That was a year away from his children, and a year away from his mother, who was ill at the time. She died last year.
McLee had another run-in with officers a few months ago, when he ran from a porch gathering after officers in plain clothes and vests approached with guns drawn. He said they did not announce they were officers, and he stopped running and put his hands behind his head when they yelled they were police.
He said he was charged with fleeing and resisting arrest, but said during that arrest an officer kicked him in the face through a fence, splitting his lip. He said the use of force was caught on a security camera and he plans to fight the charges.
But McLee stressed forgiveness, saying he couldn't blame every police officer for bad interactions he had with any others.
“We need to work on our humanity ... that’s the main problem of this world. We’re stuck on how to get up or to get even, and that is not how I was raised to be. You learn, you live, you move on and I was always taught to forgive big,” he said. “You can’t base every day of your life off of one interaction you have with one individual.”
"The trooper said McLee pointed a weapon at him twice, but security footage showed McLee disarming the man, discarding the gun quickly and fleeing when shots were fired."Pa. man wronged by police in the past pulls officer from burning car: ‘We need to work on our humanity’
He filed a lawsuit in late 2018 against four Pennsylvania State Police troopers for wrongful arrest after he spent a year in jail related to a March 2016 fight
The 31-year-old said it wasn't a complicated decision to help another human being. But even some of his close friends wondered if he hesitated because of his previous interactions with a few law enforcement officers.
“No. There is value in every human life. We are all children of God, and I can’t imagine just watching anyone burn,” he said. “No matter what other people have done to me, or other officers, I thought, ‘this guy deserves to make it home safely to his family.’”
McLee filed a lawsuit in late 2018 against four Pennsylvania State Police troopers for wrongful arrest after he spent a year in jail related to a March 2016 fight outside an American Legion bar.
McLee had rushed to the bar in Dunbar, Pa., after his sister called saying she needed a ride home because she had been drinking and a fight had broken out. When McLee arrived, he disarmed a man who was standing in the parking lot with a gun and threw the weapon aside.
At least one trooper fired shots at McLee as he fled. The trooper said McLee pointed a weapon at him twice, but security footage showed McLee disarming the man, discarding the gun quickly and fleeing when shots were fired.
McLee, a Black man with tattoos visible on his neck and arms and twisted dreads that reach below his chin, spent a year in jail before a jury acquitted him on the charges after reviewing the video. That was a year away from his children, and a year away from his mother, who was ill at the time. She died last year.
McLee had another run-in with officers a few months ago, when he ran from a porch gathering after officers in plain clothes and vests approached with guns drawn. He said they did not announce they were officers, and he stopped running and put his hands behind his head when they yelled they were police.
He said he was charged with fleeing and resisting arrest, but said during that arrest an officer kicked him in the face through a fence, splitting his lip. He said the use of force was caught on a security camera and he plans to fight the charges.
But McLee stressed forgiveness, saying he couldn't blame every police officer for bad interactions he had with any others.
“We need to work on our humanity ... that’s the main problem of this world. We’re stuck on how to get up or to get even, and that is not how I was raised to be. You learn, you live, you move on and I was always taught to forgive big,” he said. “You can’t base every day of your life off of one interaction you have with one individual.”
I think he set the vehicle on fire.
