By Sophie R. | Vanguard ALT National | April 25, 2025
DALLAS, TX – According to a report by The Root’s Kalyn Womack, a Black man named Michael Singleton was violently apprehended, arrested, and tased at Dallas Love Field Airport following a false accusation involving narcotics. The incident, which unfolded at a Southwest Airlines gate, was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
Womack reported that officers at the scene claimed they were executing a warrant, though Singleton repeatedly told them it was for an unpaid traffic ticket—not drug-related charges.
The video, posted to Instagram and described by The Root, shows Singleton shouting, “Somebody tape this. I didn’t do anything. My name is Michael Singleton.” The woman who recorded the footage said she began filming because Singleton pleaded for someone to document the encounter, stating he was being framed.
According to The Root, the situation escalated after officers allegedly misheard a woman mention “white powder,” which prompted a confrontation centered on narcotics. Singleton was already in handcuffs with his hands behind his back and was not resisting when, to the shock of onlookers, an officer deployed a taser, causing him to collapse.
In the video, Singleton continues to assert his innocence, yelling, “I’m not a drug dealer!” and “I had my hands behind my back and didn’t even f**king move!” After collapsing, Singleton was placed in a wheelchair and removed from view, The Root reported.
Singleton has since been identified as a traveling chef who splits his time between Oakland and Dallas and is also a father. According to an Instagram user who claims to have connected with him after the incident, Singleton is “free and okay at the moment. He is lawyered up, and it is in the court’s hands now.”
The Root concluded with a call for justice, urging that the courts hold the officers accountable and establish that this kind of police brutality is unacceptable.
