A man was jailed for illegally detaining a Black teenager. Newsweek recently reported that the incident occurred on June 9, 2020 in Hillsborough County, Florida.
During the early morning hours, the Black teen, who has yet to be identified, was on his way to basketball practice when he was stopped by Luis Santos, who was driving in a car.
At some point, Santos, 54, asked the Black teen, who was on his bike, to give him his address twice. Santos, who recorded the incident on his cell phone, told the teen, “You’re not going anywhere. You’re being detained,” while reaching for his pocket as if he had a gun.
The teen responded with confusion and said, “I’m sorry?” He then asked, “Can I go?”
Santos called 911 and lied to the operator by claiming that he was an off-duty police officer. He also claimed that he had evidence that the teen was breaking into cars.
When police arrived, the terrified teen was reportedly hyperventilating as he held his hands above his head. Police found a basketball, jump rope, and sneakers in the teen’s gym bag.
The ordeal was similar to the Trayvon Martin incident where George Zimmerman followed the Black teen and allegedly killed him. And more recently, Ahmaud Arbery was allegedly murdered by three White men who followed him and shot him to death. Zimmerman was acquitted of Martin’s murder and Arbery’s alleged killers will be on trial for murder soon.
The State Attorney’s Office in Florida interviewed the teenage victim on July 20 and charged Santos with false imprisonment. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
