A Texas man says a deputy mistook him for a wanted fugitive while he stood in front of his own home with his children. Clarence shared video of the encounter on Facebook, and it quickly went viral.
According to Clarence’s Facebook post, the deputy came to his house saying someone had called about a stolen dog. Clarence said that made no sense because he had the dog’s paperwork and the animal was microchipped. He said the deputy then asked for his ID, he politely declined, and the deputy told him to put his hands behind his back.
In the video, the deputy tells Clarence he is wanted on a Louisiana warrant and later shows him a photo of another man. Clarence keeps telling the deputy he has the wrong person. At one point the deputy uses the wrong first name for him, which prompts Clarence to ask, “You don’t even know my name, and you’re telling me I have a warrant?” Clarence also points to Texas law, which only requires a person to hand over ID to a peace officer who has lawfully arrested them and asked for it.
Clarence said the man in the photo was a Black man in his 50s with dreadlocks, and he believes the deputy went off appearance alone. That is his view of what happened. The encounter ended with the deputy offering to file a report, an offer Clarence turned down.
Constable Mark Herman told KRIV that his deputy went to the home because someone called and claimed Clarence was a wanted fugitive. Houston Police Union President Joe Gamaldi, who was asked to review the video, said the deputy “very much thought he had the right person.”
Clarence told the station that all he could think about was his kids. He said he did not want his son to remember watching his father get hauled off to jail for something he did not do, and that the whole thing could have wrapped up in minutes if the deputy had simply explained he was looking for a man named Quentin.
Made to order and shipped to your door.
