Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against a woman who was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, allegedly for speeding on July 21.
The arrest of Kyara Estes, a 19-year-old black woman, was captured on video and posted to Facebook later that same day.
The video showed highway patrol officer Charles McVey pulling Estes out of the passenger seat of a car that her white girlfriend, Maddie Powell, was driving.
According to court documents, the officer pulled the vehicle over for traveling 92 mph on Interstate 75.
McVey asked Powell if Estes had told her to speed, went to the passenger's side and asked Estes for her identification, NAACP President Elenora Woods, who spoke with the girlfriend's family, previously told the Times Free Press.
But Estes didn't have identification, and her license had been revoked as a result of a previous accident, Woods said. He then told Estes she was under arrest and to get out of the car. When Estes asked why, the officer pulled her by her braids, Woods said.
Lt. Bill Miller, spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office is conducting an investigation, and the highway patrol has also opened an internal investigation. In the meantime, McVey has been placed on "administrative assignment," Miller said.
Estes' charges were dropped Wednesday because prosecutors "did not have the evidence necessary to convict her," district attorney spokesman Bruce Garner said.
Powell, however, still faces charges. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19.