A Black female army sergeant based in Kentucky has been unfairly charged with felony assault after defending herself in a dangerous road rage incident.
According to reports, Sergeant First Class Kai Waters was driving home in Elizabethtown, Kentucky on February 22 when she first encountered an aggressive driver.
It is not clear what instigated the aggression, but Waters told WAVE 3 News that the woman, who was white, called her racial slurs and bumped her vehicle.
“She started honking her horn and pulled next to me,” Waters said. “She called me a black b***h, and said ‘your kind.’ She said, ‘I’m so tired of your people’ and all this.”
Waters, who is a Chicago native, was forced to eventually pull over at a gas station to call 911. At this time, video footage shows the other woman attacking Waters, who had opened her car door but was still in the car.
Waters can be seen grabbing a knife, said to have been given to her as a military honor, and sticking it in the woman’s leg in self-defense.
However, police decided to arrest Waters upon arrival.
Waters told WAVE 3 News that Elizabethtown police assumed she was the attacker because of her age and race before looking at all the evidence.
“I thought hopefully, someone is going to listen to me, they’re going to get my story,” she said. “But that never happened.”
The police have yet to act on a complaint that Waters filed a complaint against the woman.
“This whole situation has pretty much destroyed my whole career and my whole life,” she said.
Fortunately, the US Army appears to be standing behind Waters, calling her a “trusted leader.”
“She is a trusted leader and this turn of events is in total contradiction to her performance and character. I understand the police department has a job to do but now that the truth is seen by
“We stand behind her and are anxious for justice,” she added.
For now, Waters is waiting for a grand jury to decide if she should be indicted, her lawyer says.
“I trust that the grand jury would have a very difficult time indicting her (Waters) based on the conduct that is provable by the video,” attorney Jeremy Aldridge said.