Dear Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse & City Council-

I would like to start off by introducing you to Darrius Strong. A fiancé, a father to a beautiful 1 yr old girl, choreographer, dancer, and teacher to so many of Bloomington’s youth.  On July 10th after an afternoon of teaching dance classes at a local dance studio, Elevé Performing Arts Center, Darrius was pulled over by 3 police officers in which one officer pulled out their gun.  What could he have done to have a police officer pull her gun out?!?

With his hands raised he gets out of his car willingly.  When asked about what he has done wrong they cuff him and put him in the back seat of their squad car.  They accused Darrius of using a fraudulent check which after further investigation they found they had the wrong guy.  They released him and told him that someone was fraudulently using his name. 

Gun drawn for a fraudulent check?  Is this protocol?  How does this behavior keep us safe?  How does this behavior convey our trust in the Police Dept.? 

Darrius is a leader and a mentor to so many children in the Bloomington community. For them to hear of this situation is incredibly heart breaking and scary.   He is the type of teacher who takes the time to properly greet every dancer as they enter the studio.  He cares about his students and they care about him!  As the studio owner at Elevé I am honored to have such a passionate and inspiring teacher on our staff.  He is a good man, with a good heart and he does not deserve to be treated unfairly.

We are asking for clarity on the protocol used for this traffic stop, and assistance in clearing his name from this mistaken detainment. 

Sincerely,

Brittany Milan 

Director/Owner

Elevé Performing Arts Center