Last week, in West Philadelphia a Black family found themselves in the middle of yet another case of #breathingwhileblack.
The incident occurred on Friday, June 22, at the Cinemark movie theater. According to Philly.com, Ismael Jimenez said a loud beeping noise kept going off in the theater during a screening of “Jurassic World.” So, he and his wife, Ashley, left to request a refund, leaving their four sons, and two of their friends inside the theater.
Although the manager gave the couple a refund, he refused to allow them to retrieve their kids. But, Jimenez’s wife went in any way, which forced the manager to threaten to call the police. One officer, who was already in the area, approached Jimenez as Ashley returned with the children. As the incident escalated, she pulled out her phone to record the incident.
About 10 officers arrived, Jimenez’s 11-year-old son, who understood the dangers of police encounters, got so scared and ran to the bathroom to vomit.
“He was worried that I was going to get hurt,” Jimenez said, of the encounter with at least a half-dozen officers.
After the incident, another officer, who helped deescalated the encounter, also helped the family get a refund concession. No one was arrested, the publication reports.
“A black person’s considered a threat immediately,” Jimenez said. “So, therefore, if they are defiant to you, instead of actually dealing with the issue, you are calling the police.”
Since then, police have blamed the incident and the heavy police response on a radio miscommunication. According to Philly.com, officials said the officer, who was working at the theater, witnessed a dispute between the white employee and the Jimenez family. However, he did not respond to his radio, which prompted an “assist officer” alert.
The department claimed the officer didn’t hear it. Other than that, they also said that “as best as we can determine at this time,” no CInemark employees called 911.
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