A Maryland woman who said she was only trying to get to work ended up under arrest after police said she ignored a road closure, moved traffic cones and caution tape, struck an officer with her vehicle, and drove into an area filled with pedestrians.
According to the Midwest Safety report, the incident began at a roadblock near a street festival, where officers were keeping vehicles out of a closed area. The woman, later identified by the channel’s host as 28-year-old Kai Deberry-Bostick, repeatedly told an officer she needed to leave because she worked in Virginia.
The officer explained that the road was closed and that no vehicles could be allowed through. He apologized for the inconvenience and even offered to call her a taxi, but Deberry-Bostick rejected that option, saying she was not taking a taxi all the way to Virginia.
A Closed Road And A Driver Who Refused To Wait
In the bodycam footage shared by Midwest Safety, Deberry-Bostick told the officer that she understood the situation but needed to get out because there was only one way out for residents in the area.
The officer responded that the closure had been advertised and that several people had already been told they could not leave through the blocked road. He said the inconvenience was not something he could change, because the roadway had been closed for public safety.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” the officer told her, “but unfortunately, there’s several people that I’ve had to say that can’t come out.”
Deberry-Bostick continued to insist that she had to go to work. She told the officer she was not trying to break the law, but also said she “might have to” move the blocked area herself if police would not let her leave.
The officer warned her not to move the cones and made it clear that if she tried to drive through the roadblock, she would be placed under arrest.
That warning did not stop her.
Police Said She Drove Through The Blockade
The bodycam footage showed the officer calling out over the radio that a vehicle was trying to run through the roadblock. Moments later, he could be heard ordering the driver to stop as she moved forward.
“Stop your car,” the officer shouted as he chased after the vehicle.
The scene became more urgent as the vehicle moved into the pedestrian area. The officer warned people nearby that a woman was driving down the street, while other officers and emergency personnel moved in to stop her.
When officers reached the vehicle, they ordered Deberry-Bostick out of the car and told her she was under arrest. She continued saying she was only trying to get to work and that she lived in the nearby apartments with no other way out.
“I’m just trying to get to work,” she said several times in the footage.
The officer later told her that she had almost hit numerous people after driving through the closure. He said she had bumped him with the car, then driven down the street and nearly struck 15 or 16 people.
That is the part of the case that changes the entire meaning of her explanation. Being late for work may be stressful, and road closures can be frustrating, but once a vehicle enters a crowd, the situation is no longer about inconvenience. It becomes a public safety emergency.
Officers Said She Had Been Offered Another Option Earlier
As more officers arrived, one of them provided additional context that made the situation appear less sudden than Deberry-Bostick suggested.
According to that officer, a man described as her male counterpart had earlier asked if she could get out of the blocked area. The officer said another officer had offered to escort them out through a different route if she came outside at that time.
The man reportedly said that would work, then went back inside, but Deberry-Bostick did not come out at the time the escort was offered.
One officer explained that he had spoken with the man about two and a half hours earlier, after the man said his girlfriend needed to leave for work. The officer said he told him there was no normal way to get out, but that if she came outside right away, police could try to escort her through an approved path.
According to the footage, that did not happen. Instead, Deberry-Bostick came out later and tried to force her way through the closure on her own.
That detail is important because it undercuts the idea that the only choices were missing work or driving through a crowd. Police said an earlier option had been offered, but it was not used.
“Your Circumstances Don’t Justify Your Behavior”
After the arrest, Deberry-Bostick continued telling officers that she needed to go to work and that the road closure had trapped her vehicle.
The officer who confronted her did not accept that explanation.
“Your circumstances don’t justify your behavior,” he told her in the footage.
He also told her that if she had listened, the situation could have ended differently. Instead, he said, she moved the barricade, drove forward, struck him with the vehicle, and created danger for people walking nearby.
Deberry-Bostick asked to call her mother, saying her mother was nearby. Officers told her she was an adult and needed to stay seated while they handled the arrest.
She also asked officers to remove the handcuffs because they were uncomfortable, but they told her she was under arrest and going to jail. When she said she was not going to do anything, one officer responded that based on her behavior, he did not trust what she was saying.
There is a practical lesson in that exchange. After someone ignores repeated instructions and uses a vehicle to push through a closure, officers are not likely to treat later promises of cooperation as enough. Trust is usually lost in the first decision to force the situation.
Why Roadblocks Are Taken So Seriously
The Midwest Safety host said road closures themselves do not usually make officers nervous, but people who emotionally break down because of them do.
According to the host, festival details teach officers quickly that one person deciding the rules do not apply can place hundreds of people at risk. That is why officers reacted so strongly once Deberry-Bostick moved past the cones and entered the closed area.
The host also referenced the 2021 Christmas parade attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where six people were killed and more than 60 were injured after a driver forced a vehicle into a parade crowd. The point was not that every roadblock violation is the same as that tragedy, but that police now have clear reason to treat vehicles entering pedestrian zones as a serious threat.
The line between frustration and disaster can become very thin when a car moves into a crowd. A driver may believe she can carefully avoid people, but the people walking nearby have no way to know her intentions, and officers cannot assume the best once commands are being ignored.
That is why the officer’s refusal to open the roadblock was not just about procedure. It was about preventing a vehicle from entering a space where people were not expecting traffic.
Charges, Plea Deal, And Sentencing
Midwest Safety reported that Deberry-Bostick was charged with second-degree assault, two counts of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order, and reckless endangerment.
During her first court appearance, according to the host, her attorney said she was trying to get to work and described the incident as an unfortunate reaction to police instructions. The judge pushed back, calling it an extremely dangerous situation, and denied bond.
The channel reported that Deberry-Bostick later accepted a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order, while all other charges were dismissed.
She was sentenced to 13 days in jail and two years of probation.
The case is a clear example of how a short delay, a closed road, and one poor decision can escalate into criminal charges. Deberry-Bostick said she needed to get to work, but the bodycam footage showed officers repeatedly telling her the road was closed and warning her not to move the barricade.
In the end, the issue was not whether her frustration was understandable. It was that she chose to drive through a police roadblock and into a pedestrian area after being told no, turning a work commute problem into a public safety incident with real legal consequences.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
