Sheriff Defends Stopping Black Man For Walking With Hands In His Pockets
A black Michigan man posted a video on Facebook of his encounter with a police officer in which the cop tells him he stopped him because his hands were in his pockets and that looked suspicious. The local Sheriff is defending the incident and said the entire story wasn’t told.
The officer tells McKean that he got a call about his “suspicious” behavior.
“You were walking by … well you were making people nervous,” the officer tells McKean. “They said you had your hands in your pockets.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office responded to the story which has gotten a lot of attention.
On Facebook the sheriff states:
…Shocking that the internet does not tell the full picture or people use this for an agenda-right? So, here is the whole story.
The video that was posted was an edited version of the whole situation and cut out the Deputy fully explaining as to why 911 was called on him, and ended with this person agreeing that the police should respond. The 911 call received by the Oakland County Dispatch Center originated from a nearby business that had been a victim , as well as its employees, of seven robberies. The caller and his employees were concerned about the individual who had walked by the front window of the business five or six times, while looking inside with his hands in his pockets. Fearing for their safety, the business dialed 911 and the Deputy responded.
In the unedited version of the event, the individual stated that if he had called the police on a suspicious person, he would expect the police to respond, check the area, and talk to the suspicious person being called about. The Deputy did not detain or pat down the individual and considering the nature of the call responded in a very restrained and professional manner.
We will continue to take each and every call seriously at the Sheriff’s Office and hold our Deputies to the highest standards and expectations of public service.
According to what McKean told The Huffington Post, that reported “suspicious” person spotted by the business owner definitely wasn’t him.
The encounter:
Image: Huffpo
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By: Anomaly100
48 responses to Sheriff Defends Stopping Black Man For Walking With Hands In His Pockets
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fancypants December 3rd, 2014 at 01:13
this is one where I think the officer might have been looking for a robbery suspect ( mentioned in video ) unfortunately he stopped a guy who appears to not like cops because of what’s going on across the nation,
Dadler December 3rd, 2014 at 15:32
I thought the same thing at first pass, but then played it again, and…nope, all he says is “We have a lot of robberies,” which, if you think about it, doesn’t really make it better. At all.
fancypants December 3rd, 2014 at 02:13
this is one where I think the officer might have been looking for a robbery suspect ( mentioned in video ) unfortunately he stopped a guy who appears to not like cops because of what’s going on across the nation,
Dadler December 3rd, 2014 at 16:32
I thought the same thing at first pass, but then played it again, and…nope, all he says is “We have a lot of robberies,” which, if you think about it, doesn’t really make it better. At all.
rg9rts December 3rd, 2014 at 01:30
Past behavior by the PD’s across the nation add validity to the original …glad to see that the PD wasn’t that ignorant
rg9rts December 3rd, 2014 at 02:30
Past behavior by the PD’s across the nation add validity to the original …glad to see that the PD wasn’t that ignorant
allison1050 December 3rd, 2014 at 12:41
rrriiiiight
allison1050 December 3rd, 2014 at 13:41
rrriiiiight
Bunya December 3rd, 2014 at 14:19
Well, yeah! Being stopped for walking while black in Michigan (especially in predominantly white areas such as Richland and New Buffalo) is as prominent as being pulled over for driving while black.
Bunya December 3rd, 2014 at 15:19
Well, yeah! Being stopped for walking while black in Michigan (especially in predominantly white areas such as Richland and New Buffalo) is as prominent as being pulled over for driving while black.
AnnSanity December 4th, 2014 at 08:26
Okay, so let me get this straight. It is against the law for Black Americans to walk past an establishment four or five times without entering? We are banned from being indecisive about where or if we shop? I am asking because I have, on many occasions, made multiple passes by a shoe store trying to talk myself OUT of making a purchase. But now, knowing that as a Black Woman, although I may not have my hands in my pocket, I am carrying a large bag, and for all I know this place may have been robbed in the past, so there may be some scared WHITE folks inside…I guess the only thing left for BLACK PEOPLE to do is stop shopping at the large malls and in these small strip centers. Now there’s a thought.
AnnSanity December 4th, 2014 at 09:26
Okay, so let me get this straight. It is against the law for Black Americans to walk past an establishment four or five times without entering? We are banned from being indecisive about where or if we shop? I am asking because I have, on many occasions, made multiple passes by a shoe store trying to talk myself OUT of making a purchase. But now, knowing that as a Black Woman, although I may not have my hands in my pocket, I am carrying a large bag, and for all I know this place may have been robbed in the past, so there may be some scared WHITE folks inside…I guess the only thing left for BLACK PEOPLE to do is stop shopping at the large malls and in these small strip centers. Now there’s a thought.