The man seen in a viral video calling police on a Black man outside his San Francisco apartment building has responded. Christopher, a YouTube employee, apologized for making Wesley feel unfairly targeted, though he said his actions were not racially motivated.
According to reports, Wesley, a software engineer, was waiting for a friend outside the building on July 4 when Christopher, who lives there with his young son, confronted him. In the video, which Wesley recorded and which has been shared more than 1 million times, Christopher asks for the name of Wesley’s friend. Wesley declines to share it, and Christopher calls the police and accuses him of trespassing. Wesley’s friend, who lives in the building, then arrives.
Wesley told CNN the incident “mirrors the experience that African Americans endure daily where we are questioned on whether we belong.” He added, “I videotaped this incident to protect myself and to support my story should police get involved.”
In a post on Medium, Christopher shared his side. He said break ins are not unusual in his neighborhood and that he was thinking about the safety of his son and the building. He also wrote that his father was killed by a trespasser outside of his home, which shaped how he reacted. He said that bad people can be of any race and that his actions were not racially motivated.
“I now realize that Wesley was reacting based on his unique history as well,” Christopher wrote. “Unfortunately there is a terrible pattern of people calling the authorities regarding people of color for no other reason than their race. The last thing I ever intended was to echo that history, and I’m sorry my actions caused Wesley to feel unfairly targeted due to his race.”
Reports also say Christopher deleted his social media accounts after the video went viral.
For his part, Wesley said he simply wants to be seen for who he is. “I believe that ultimately everyone wants to be seen for who they are and not prejudged,” he said. “I’m an American, a brother, a son, and an ambitious engineer who loves to code and wants to greatly contribute to the tech world in a city that I love.”
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