In yet another controversial action by law enforcement, a Black man was detained by multiple police officers for looking at a White woman in suburban Detroit.
Police officers in Royal Oak, Michigan, are in hot water after several responding to a restaurant after a White woman called 911 to report a Black man was looking at her “suspiciously.”
Police detained Devin Myers, 20, after a Caucasian woman said this in a 911 call: “He’s an African American male, and I don’t know what his deal is, but it’s making me not feel very comfortable.”
Officers arrived on the scene and reportedly told Myers the reason for the stop as they held him up for 20 minutes before letting him go.
“She’s calling us saying you’re staring at her, so that’s why I’m out here,” one officer said to Myers.
Myers says this is the second time he has been wrongly detained by the same officer, NBC 4 Detroit reports. To make matters worse, once the first police officer began discussing the stop with Myers, a couple of other police cruisers arrived at the scene as backup.
This comes on the heels of police leading a Black man led by a leash through the downtown streets of Galveston, Texas, outside of Houston.
The Royal Oak Police Department issued a full apology for the stop.
“This is not the practice of the Royal Oak Police Department and it is not acceptable. The supervisor has been disciplined and every Royal Oak police supervisor has received additional training in procedural justice,” the statement read, according to WDIV NBC 4 Detroit. Additionally, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the Civil Rights Division of her office will look deeper into the matter to ensure Myers’ rights were not violated.
The damage, however, has been done, as Myers said his anxiety level has shot up and he has trouble sleeping.
Those who decry the police operating as the first line of defense to maintain a social hierarchy will undoubtedly point to this video in suburban Detroit as a receipt of their claims.
Check out the cellphone video captured by a passerby that was shared in NBC 4 Detroit’s report below.
