A Black barber is suing police in Wisconsin, accusing officers of racially profiling and detaining him on suspicion of drug-dealing just because he parked in a no-parking zone.
“It just felt like it was racial,” Jessie Watkins said. “I don’t care what they say. I felt it. I felt degraded, I felt humiliated, I just felt like officers of all people shouldn’t behave that way.”
Watkins, a barber from Milwaukee, was stopped by police on April 17 after he was seen parked in a no-parking zone in Waukesha, WTMJ reported.
Bodycam footage shows police approach Watkins’ car late that night, dubious about his presence in the area. Watkins was driving his girlfriend’s car after dropping her off at work and pulled over to send a text.
He said that, other than his race, several factors contributed to why police were suspicious of him.
Watkins, who has roughly 400 clients, has two phones to separate his business-related affairs from his personal life. He was also a truck driver before becoming a barber, and so he doesn’t like to text and drive.
After police see the phones in Watkins’ car, they communicate their suspicions about both devices.
“He’s got two phones,” one officer is heard on bodycam video saying. “How come you’ve got so many phones?”
Watkins told police he pulled over to text, but they didn’t buy his story. Without more questions or explanations, they asked Watkins to exit the car.
When Watkins asks the officer why he’s being apprehended, one officer responds that “everything you’re doing is suspicious.”
“What is suspicious about what {I am} doing?” Watkins responds.
“You’re parked in a known drug-dealing area. It’s a third-party vehicle, you have two phones, you’re smoking,” an officer responded.
“A known drug-dealing area?” Watkins questioned.
Watkins makes a request for a supervisor but is denied. He asks again, “I’m requesting to see your supervisor. I can request to see your supervisor.” However, the officer denies him once more. “No, you do not.”
The officers frisk Watkins, search his pockets, then handcuff him despite Watkins once again requesting a supervisor and verbally denying their request to conduct a search. “You can’t search me, I know my rights.”
“Being detained for what? For being Black? For being Black in Waukesha?” Watkins asked during the encounter.
Watkins repeats his reason for stopping — to avoid texting and driving — but that didn’t clear the officers’ skepticism.
“If you think I’m really going to buy that you’re pulling over to text, does this look like my first day?” the officer asked.
“Look at my phone then!” Watkins replied.
“Nobody does that, dude,” the officer said.
Officers called a K-9 unit to sniff the car for drugs. All police found was a THC vape, but nothing else.
After detaining Watkins for 30 minutes, they released him.
Watkins filed a lawsuit, accusing two of the cops of violating his civil rights, alleging he was unreasonably searched and seized because of his race, according to WTMJ.
In a statement, Waukesha Police explained why the officers pulled Watkins over, noting that their actions and decisions fell within department standards:
The facts of this case, a uniformed officer observed an illegally parked vehicle in a clearly marked no parking zone during the overnight hours. Due to the vehicle’s heavily tinted windows and its location, the officer made consensual contact with the vehicle to investigate the circumstances. Heavily tinted windows can prevent officers from seeing inside the vehicle, which can pose safety concerns, especially during nighttime hours. As such we are unable to identify if anyone is in the vehicle. The officer approached the vehicle to make contact with the occupant and determine if any assistance was needed or if any violations were occurring.
During the encounter, the occupant of the vehicle raised concerns about potential bias in the stop. The department takes all such concerns seriously. However, it’s important to clarify that the officer could not see inside the vehicle or determine the identity or demographics of the occupant prior to making contact. The decision to engage in dialogue with the operator of the vehicle was based solely on the vehicle being in violation of a posted no parking zone and the safety concerns associated with being unable to see into the vehicle due to its excessive tint.
We recognize the importance of maintaining public trust and are committed to fair, unbiased policing. All interactions are subject to review to ensure they align with department policy and professional standards. In this case, the officer acted within those standards and handled the situation professionally.
Watkins’ attorney contested the actions seen on the bodycam footage, stating that the search was unlawful and accusing police of escalating the situation when they could have merely ordered Watkins to leave the no-parking zone.
“They knew Mr. Watkins was Black when they made contact with him,” attorney William Sulton said. “They could see him at that point. If you see a car that’s parked on a street and you’d like that car to move, it is normal for police to say, ‘Hey, we’d like you to move your car.’ It is not normal for police to say get out of the car, let me get your license, let me run your name, let me put you in handcuffs, let me search you. That is not normal. That’s part of an investigation pursuant to an arrest. You would expect that if they actually had probable cause to arrest and they didn’t here.”
Great Job Yasmeen F. & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
