African-American man stopped by Michigan cop for walking with his hands in his pockets

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Raw Story

African-American man stopped by Michigan cop for walking with his hands in his pockets
Tom Boggioni
29 Nov 2014 at 18:06 ET

An African-American man, out for a walk on a cold Michigan day, was stopped by police after a caller reported that he looked suspicious because he had his hands in his pockets.

Brandon B. Waxx McKean posted video on his Facebook page showing his encounter with a police officer who briefly detained him on Thanksgiving day while he was out for a stroll.

In the video the officer can be seen radioing in, asking dispatch to close out a contact file, before explaining to McKean that he was stopped because he was “making people nervous.”

“Well, you were making people nervous,” the officer explained as he took out his own cellphone and began filming the encounter.


Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/african-american-man-stopped-by-michigan-cop-for-walking-with-his-hands-in-his-pockets/

[BumRushDaShow]

1. Walking while black, driving while black

presidentin' while black, living while black.

We "fit the description".

[olddad56]

48. using the pockets of your jacket to keep your hands warm while black.

[Ken Burch]

72. we could just say "Living While Black". n/t.

[Brigid]

2. When I am wearing a jacket or coat,

I almost always have my hands in my pockets. If the cops see me, they never look at me twice. Neither does anybody else.

*Checks skin tone and gender*
Oh, wait . . .

[PsychGrad]

15. Same here.

I often wear hoodies too and put my hands deep in the front pocket on them. Nobody has ever stopped me or reported me, or even followed me around in a store where I could, in theory, be loading up on stolen items with my hands in that big ass hoodie.

[happyslug]

23. When I was in the Army, if you kept your hands in your pockets that was called "Air Force Gloves"

"Army Gloves" were what we called regular gloves and we were told NOT to use those "Air Force" Gloves.

Just a comment of how we we trained, but being a Civilian I often put my hands in my pockets.

[Ash_F]

3. Police make people nervous. /nt

[sakabatou]

9. +1000

[jwirr]

4. I this one the policeman was embarrassed at least. Probably had to make the call. Whoever called is

crazy.

[bvf]

14. The question should be

about who dispatched the cop. The dispatcher is even crazier than the caller. I don't as a habit defend cops, but this guy should raise a stink about the whole thing when he files his report.

[1StrongBlackMan]

39. Unfortunately/fortunately ...

Dispatchers do not have discretion as to whether they pass on a call or not.

[bvf]

40. Seriously?

I plead complete ignorance about the inner workings of PDs. Just assumed there would be a gatekeeper.

Who if anyone filters out the cranks?

[1StrongBlackMan]

42. Seriously ...

Dispatcher get a call about green horses skateboarding down main street ... they call an officer to check it out ... they may voice their skepticism in passing on the call; but they assign it none-the-less.

[bvf]

43. Good lord but that is fucked up.

That never would have occurred to me.

Thanks (if that's an appropriate thing to say to such info).

[1StrongBlackMan]

44. I agree ...

But I certainly don't want a clerk making a "go/no go" decision based on the sketchy information received on 911 calls.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

52. I did not know this either, so it is possible if you wanted to fuck some people up all you would

have to do is call in a report of a group of African American's looking suspicious and even if it turned out to be a church social, if said AA folks were unlucky to get a racist cop, well you know the rest.

Sounds ike the possibility of many bad events going down

[1StrongBlackMan]

56. Yep ...

and it happens everyday ... In fact, it's the game of the moment for young(er) gamers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting

[Judi Lynn]

58. It's great to have read your information on this. Sure wish they would follow up on every call,

to stress how important it is people actually believe what they are saying when they call, not just trying to hand someone some harassment, some miserable trouble for the hell of it.

[bvf]

88. Disturbing read.

Bookmarked for more complete reading. Thanks for this and the other info.

[JonLP24]

45. I could imagine scenarios where a dispatcher choose not to pass on a call

and it led to problems.

A 'better safe than sorry' (meaning pass on all the calls to avoid the not passing on a call that shouldn't have been) but this is just a wild guess theory. I have no idea what the training, rules, etc go into for a dispatcher.

[jwirr]

47. I think there are a lot of prank calls come in to the police. They have to check everyone of them

out. However, I do not think the caller meant this as a prank. Just a mean bigoted action on the part of the caller.

[tblue37]

73. I don't necessarily believe there was such a call.

I think the man should demand proof that there was a call.

I am thinking the cop saw a black guy walking around on Thanksgiving and was just making an excuse to check him out because he assumed, as Zimmerjerk did, that a black male walking by houses must be "casing" them, especially since it was a holiday.

[PsychGrad]

16. I agree.

But the cop said, "we've had a lot of burglaries around here". So - do they stop EVERY person that walks around that area? Or, just the black ones? Because, I have a guess.

[Liberal Lolita]

75. Good point

Not many have mentioned the "we've had a lot of burglaries around here" comment. It seems the officer is using that as an excuse. Just because there have been burglaries does not mean someone walking down a street minding their own damned business is a problem.

[joshcryer]

32. Why not "take 45 minutes" to look into it like they do robberies?

Or domestic disputes? I think he saw a black guy and decided to stop. He should've simply looked at the situation, assessed how absolutely absurd the callers' claim was, and just let it go. Holy shit.

Frankly I am questioning whether the 911 operator said anything about hands in his pockets and the officer made it up on the fly. We know the 911 operator didn't say shit about the gun being potentially fake to the poor 12 year old murdered.

[weissmam]

5. I would sue

[cstanleytech]

6. Sue who? The police for doing their job of responding to a call? Or the caller for being an idiot?

[24601]

7. Your point is accurate - add to it - what are the actual damages? I'm constantly disappointed but

no longer amazed by the mindset that every slight has a solution in the courts.

[Judi Lynn]

59. Hope you will find a way to live with your disappointment, just as victims of racism are forced. n/t

[24601]

62. The difference is that I accept the disappointment as the cost of interaction with those who think a

lawsuit is the answer to everything. There is a five-step program for dealling with that.

Experience Disappointment
Note Disappointment
Consider Lawsuit
Sober Up
Move On

(repeat process at commencement of next disappointment)

[Judi Lynn]

69. And that's your final answer! Deep. n/t

[Android3.14]

8. What were the police supposed to do?

This is a stupid story.

[Schema Thing]

10. not stop the guy.

They were under no obligation to harass the man just because they got a call asking them to.

[Calista241]

18. The cops would have significant liability

If that guy went on to commit a crime after they had been called and responded, and they had done nothing about it.

It doesn't sound like the guy was harassed anyway. Was he taken to jail or detained for an inordinate amount of time? He wasn't shot, he wasn't beaten, he wasn't even upset about it.

There is more than enough to complain about regarding our relationship with law enforcement, rather than focus on legitimate stuff like this.

[Schema Thing]

19. Think about what you're saying

A person calls in a complaint, for no reason other than that a man is walking through their neighborhood (while black) - and you think cops should respond by stopping and questioning said man?


I would not have been stopped in this same circumstance, 99.4% guaranteed, and that's a problem. Nor should I be stopped in that circumstance.

[Calista241]

21. Oh believe me, it's definitely a dumb reason to call the cops.

But nothing whatsoever happened.

The cop walked up, said what's up, shot the shit with the guy about stupid police calls, and then went on about his business. That's exactly the type of policing we should want more of as opposed to the guns drawn, felony stop, knee in your back as the cuffs are slapped on type.

The blame here lies with the caller. And when i was growing up, the cops were called about any "strangers" wandering around our neighborhood. White, black, brown, asian, indian, whatever. If they didn't live there, they had to account for their presence. We had a fair amount of break-ins that resulted in that call the cops strategy though.

[joshcryer]

33. No they wouldn't.

What kind of absurdity is this.

How many dead kids and moms are due to police negligence to ignore or take their time on domestic calls?

[Nevernose]

51. No, they don't

In fact SCOTUS has ruled on this issue: the police have no duty to respond or assist. They are fully free to prioritize as they see fit.

There was absolutely no need to stop the guy, or even drive by.

[TheKentuckian]

91. Under what statutes? His peaceable travel was interrupted and subjected to questioning for

no reason as such any detainment is inordinate.

"He was beaten" "He wasn't shot"

No fucking shit he was walking down the fucking street but he should also be able to do so unmolested. What if he was walking to a bus to get to work or trying to catch the last one home and missed it talking about some bullshit?

[benfranklin1776]

31. Indeed as there was no reasonable suspicion of his involvement in criminal activity

Not from the call or from the officer's observation which is what Terry v. Ohio mandates for the stop to be constitutional, I.e. legal and not an infringement of this individual's fundamental right to walk down the street without being unlawfully detained.

[Schema Thing]

64. thank you

[christx30]

63. It's the person that called the cops

that's to blame.
I have a couple of yappy dogs that will run to the door and bark at a leaf. I still check it out, just in case. I don't run up and brutalize the leaf. I just tell my dogs it's ok and I come back to the computer and browse DU.
Sounds like that's what happened here. A couple of yappy dogs barking at a leaf, and an awesome person that checked it out, quickly found no danger and moved on.

[Judi Lynn]

66. More is at stake when part of the process becomes ordering a human being to stop and be questioned

when he is trying to go from one place to another.

It's a totally different situation.

A human being is not a "leaf" and someone who would put him through that because of sadism, ignorance, or a fetid soul is the one who should be questioned. The racist fool on the phone is not innocent as is a dog.

By the way, do you keep your barking dogs outside to share the noise with the neighbors?

Other people matter. It's not just your world.

[tblue37]

74. Every time a black man is stopped for no good reason, it adds to the accumulation

of harrassing incidents that white people do not have any experience of, but that many black men experience with appalling frequency as they try to simply walk or drive from place to place.

Furthermore, every time police initiate an interaction with a black male, no matter whether he is unarmed, no matter how young he is, no matter how innocent he is, the chance of that interaction ending with the black man or boy being viciously beaten, arrested on trumped up charges, or simply killed is alarmingly high. We should deplore every unreasonable stop like this, because the safety, even the survival, of the person being stopped is always at such risk if he happens to be black!

[butterfly77]

29. Did you make the call?

[TheKentuckian]

90. Observe and council the crank on diverting peace officers from their duties which do not

include acting as harassment agents for quivering idiots.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. More fucking racists in this thread! Thanks for bringing this story to our attention.

[Judi Lynn]

36. It's always a surprise to see racist reactionaries posting at a progressive website, isn't it? n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

49. Not anymore

We're inundated. And it's not just "new" posters either.

This Ferguson thing really has lots of people showing their (they're) asses.

The best part is how innocent they make their own racism sound. Lots of despicable posts these last few months.

[Judi Lynn]

67. Never would have guessed there are so many of them who have wormed their way into the place.

And, you're right: so many aren't "new" here, either. They've been playing their games far longer than one would expect.

Guess it gives them a daily charge to have gotten in some kicks at the human race again without getting handed their hats.

[alcibiades_mystery]

70. Oh, I don't think some of them are trolls

They're quite genuine liberals and DUers. They just happen to be racists, as well.

[lunasun]

77. +1 No time for a Venn diagram ......

[brush]

82. I don't get that

Being a quite genuine liberal and racist is a contradiction in terms.

The two don't really exist in one person.

Racists that see themselves as liberals are just fooling themselves in their delusion.

[ronnie624]

92. The problem is, I think,

that a lot of them don't realize their position on an issue like this is, at its root, a product of racist contempt. Fear of 'the other' is deeply ingrained, and probably, ultimately, is part of a survival mechanism resulting from natural selection. Often, identifying racism in oneself, requires some deep introspection.

My grandmother, born in Mississippi in 1900, had an upbringing that was infused with racist notions. I never heard her use a racist epithet even once, but in retrospect, I can clearly see some elements of racism in her world view. I consider her, however, to be one of the kindest, most compassionate people I have ever known. She had the greatest amount of influence over my own personal development, and I am very grateful to her for that. She was also, for as long as she was a registered voter, a yellow dog Democrat, including throughout the Civil Rights era, so there was also a sense of justice in her awareness. I tend to think of her as a liberal, despite her racist views.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

54. ,,,

never mind, i think i give up

[jtuck004]

12. Why? Do they make a better target when their hands are over their heads? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

37. No doubt! n/t

[FLPanhandle]

13. The cop behaved like all officers should in that situation

McKean pointed out that both he and the officer were both being “respectable” — at which point the officer high-fives him — before adding, “I’m really mad at the situation, whoever called. That’s crazy.”

He responsed to a call for a suspicious person. He was polite, respectful, quickly agreed it was a stupid call, apologized and moved on. This is what good officers do instead of showing up guns out and ready for battle.

[PsychGrad]

17. Seriously.

He didn't seem to be in fear for his life just bc he was talking to, and in close proximity to, a black man. He also had his hands busy with his phone, more proof that just seeing a black man walking on the street does not, indeed, call for swinging up in the car, blocking the man's path, hitting the man with his car door and pulling his gun and shooting.

[Schema Thing]

20. He handled it well, but there was no need to stop the man

He was not, in fact, acting suspiciously.

[cstanleytech]

22. If he had pulled his gun on the man and ordered him to put his hands in the air and then frisked him

I would completely agree that it would have been overkill but he apparently wasnt rude and dealt with the gentleman in a respectful manner which is the act of a good cop imo so I fail to see the purpose in complaining about the officer doing his job.
Now bashing the idiot who made the call is a different story, they deserve the verbal bashing for a paranoid idiot.

[Schema Thing]

24. The need to complain is that A) we don't live in a fascist state, supposedly

and B) a white man in the same situation would not have been stopped - so if we're going to be fascist at least let us be post-racist fascist, eh?


IF the man had been acting suspiciously, then the cop would have had a reason to stop him. Police shouldn't just take the word of every fucking yahoo that calls in when they are obviously profiling.

[cstanleytech]

25. You consider the officer to be fascist?

Really??

[Schema Thing]

26. Don't be obtuse. I consider the act of stopping people for no legitimate reason "fascist".

[cstanleytech]

30. But he had a reason he was responding to a call albeit a call from an idiot it was still a call and

he had to respond if he hadnt and it turned out to have been a wanted felon or someone fleeing the scene of a crime he and or the department could have potentially been held liable not to mention he could have lost his job.
So overall I think the officer handled it the best he could given the circumstances.

[TheKentuckian]

89. When the officer stopped and questioned this citizen what crime did he have suspicion

was in process and on what grounds did he connect this particular individual to said crime?

Respond all you want (observe, council crank) but when you stop and question a citizen there should be an articulable and specific reason and no random crank calling doesn't cut it.

[joshcryer]

35. It could've gone completely differently.

I think he came up with an "excuse" to stop this black man that the black man was able to respond with wittily. "Hands in my pockets?!? There are thousands of people in Pontiac with hands in their pockets right now!"

Cop was shut down. Period.

Had the cop come up with another excuse, "you were stumbling around," "you appeared to have exited a drug house," "people saw you exchanging with another person," then it would've absolutely escalated.

The whole "is this stop an inconvenience to you" thing was a trap, btw. Had the man said "no," or not responded with the "hands in pockets" retort, the cop would've then said, "then you wouldn't mind me searching you."

Cops are trained liars. That practice needs to stop.

[joshcryer]

34. I think the cop lied about the "hands in pockets."

That's no fucking reason to be suspicious of someone. I bet if he came up with something different, like, "you were stumbling around" he would've escalated and made the guy do a sobriety test, then searched him with fake probable cause.

Cops are liars by default.

[noiretextatique]

50. you're making people nervous

There have been some robberies.
I do not consider that "polite" but thank goodness that young man kept his cool. Scenarios just this one can take a fatal turn quickly.

[Socal31]

28. Ignorant/racist caller.

Cop had to contact once there was a call. But if he had an IQ above room temperature, he could have quickly assessed that the only crime was a waste of police resources due to some old dinosaur who hasn't left her home since "that Brown family moved in next door" in the 70s.

[WilliamPitt]

38. Add it to the list of things Black people can't do without "looking suspicious."

[Judi Lynn]

60. Thank you for your video. Missed it the first time. So good to see it today.

The video is perfect, although the topic is grotesque. What a shrieking shame.

[1StrongBlackMan]

41. Once again, DU on full display ...

perhaps those arguing that the Officer was just doing his job (and very "respectable", at that) would think differently (read: with empathy) if it was them stopped for walking down the street on a cold day with their hands in their pockets ... or if, there is/was a clear history of this kind of thing happening to people that look like them ... and a pattern of such stops going horribly wrong.

But nope ... "this is a stupid story", one not meriting any consideration ...

I read such responses and hear the woman proclaim, "Well, what did she expect? She had been drinking and went to his hotel suite!" ... where the unspoken sentiment is, "If I think about it that way, it won't happen to me."

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

55. The sad truth is this cop did act in a way that compared to Wilson is respectable..

this is how far down the toilet we have swirled.


We are down to the point that if the cop doesnt shoot the minority suspect on site, then he is respectable.

We all know the call never gets made if he is white ...


Respectable? Ask Obama about that after trying to provide healthcare to millions, I dont think he has been treated with respect, not once, by almost half of this country.

[Liberal Lolita]

76. When this is considered respectable a action by police

there is no justice.

“Is it an inconvenience talking to me right now?” the officer asked.
“Hell yes. Just because of the whole police situation going on across the country,” an animated McKean replied. “This is outrageous that you would let somebody tell you ‘Oh, there’s somebody walking down the street with their hands in their pockets.’ There’s ten thousand people in Pontiac right now with their hands in their pockets, so how many —”

The police officer agreed saying, “That’s right, but we do have a lot of robberies, so I’m just checking on you. You’re fine, you’re good.”

To me this sounds like an accusation from the officer. As in, "Yes, it is a problem you are walking down the street with your hands in your pockets, because there have been burglaries in the area, and you are black in the wrong neighborhood." Sure the officer didn't use those words, but that is how it sounds.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

80. It is ridiculous, I was just pointing out that if this officer was like Wilson this personq

may be dead now.

I am not defending the cop, I am showing how twisted everything is.

[Liberal Lolita]

84. I know how you meant it

I totally agree.
It is truly sad when in comparison, the actions of, this officer seems respectable. I don't see his actions respectable in the least.
Sure he is required to check on the call, but he isn't required to make statements that are accusatory.
He could have simply said "Someone made a call, I am required to check up on it." He could have left it at that.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

85. His comments and questions are programmed into him as both a cop and

not part of any minority community.

I have the opposite reaction to seeing any minority in areas where they are not often seen:

"Why in holy hell would you want to live in this god forsaken racist place?"

[Liberal Lolita]

87. I saddly have to agree

as a middle aged white woman, I have seen, and heard some truly sick things from my peers.
I lived for many years in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. I moved to the suburbs last year. I have been shocked, and saddened by some of my new neighbors comments when they learn where I raised my children.
One of the things that always pisses me off is when I hear, from one of my clueless brethren "He/she is a really nice (minority name of choice)." I have to ask, what makes them nicer than the rest? Is it the possibility that you took the time to get to know him/her? Maybe if you opened yourself up to more minorities, you would find your stereotypes would disappear.
Sometimes I just don't know what to say to comments I hear. All I can do is walk away, realizing this is a person I no longer want to associate with.

[Judi Lynn]

68. You'd think it wouldn't take a genius to realize what is at stake in a situation like this.

It's hard explaining anything to someone who refuses to think beyond his own daily routine, while living a totally insulated, serious event-free life.

They can't be tempted to grow up, or wake up.

[LiberalElite]

46. Maybe black men should always

walk with hands up in pre-emptive surrender.

OMG this country sucks to the enth degree now.

[DeSwiss]

83. And not to stare either.

- Staring just shows a clear lack of fear respect:

These sweethearts are nothing but lil' kitty-kats (with PTSD unfortunately). With all their big guns and tanks and cosplay combat gear -- they're still all scared. Of us! He just admitted it in the video. They feel threatened by us if we don't tremble in fear in their presence.....

[samsingh]

53. disgusting

[gordianot]

57. At least he did not get his cell phone busted in the battle of the cell phones.

Without the phone the African American citizen and pedestrian may have had his head busted or worse. This country is out of control with authoritarian outrage.

[DeSwiss]

61. Only the guilty are nervous.

K&R

[ManiacJoe]

65. I blame the 911 operator.

Had he asked the appropriate questions to the caller, this call would have easily been dismissed as a hoax.

[graegoyle]

71. So...

What would have happened if, between the time of the call and the moment the cop arrived, the kid had taken his hands out of his pockets?

[Kablooie]

78. Keeping warm while black is the new crime I guess.

[One_Life_To_Give]

79. Some people call over anything

Racist or paranoid, can't say without a history. Quiet neighborhoods frequently will recognize a stranger (person or car) passing by.

In this case it appears to me the cop knew it was a frequent caller reporting.

[KinMd]

81. Like the woman reporting her husband is missing..

(he's been dead 30 yrs)..or the three suspicious men standing outside the woman's house...who when the responding officer drove up..radioed back to dispatch that..the 3 guys were standing at a bus stop

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

86. G0D awful truth is not until ALL americans are treated this way will shit change.

In a way I am hoping that day comes sooner than later, if it is inevitable then bring it on now.

When middle aged non minority soccer moms are being pulled over for no reason, shit will change.

Eventually even they will be suspects to the Oligarchs in that they lack wealth and are slowly waking up to the total ripoff that has happened to them.