A Black realtor, his client, and his young son are traumatized after being were wrongly handcuffed during a house showing.
On August 1st, real estate agent Eric Brown showed a home to his friend Roy Thorne in Wyoming, Michigan. Thorne’s 15-year-old son, Samuel, was also joining them on the tour. As the trio walked the home, a neighbor called police to report that someone previously arrested for “unlawful entry” had returned to the house and that their black Mercedes Benz was parked in front of the property. The problem with this story was that the cars belonging to the men inside the residence were a black Hyundai Genesis and a Chevrolet Malibu. Apparently, the police did not bother to verify the models of the vehicles because they showed up demanding that the men and teenager come out with their hands raised.
“It went from, ‘Dad, there’s cops outside’ to ‘Come outside with your hands up.’ That was kind of like, just from zero to 100,” Samuel recounted to CNN. Roy told the network that once he noticed police surrounding the home, they were “preparing for a standoff,” which made him eager to let the authorities know they posed no threat.
Officers immediately handcuffed all three. It wasn’t until Brown could produce his real estate license that the officers apologized and uncuffed them. Despite the apology, the realtor believes that “tactical” force led him to believe that they were racially profiled.
On Friday, the Wyoming Department of Public Safety issued a statement claiming that an internal investigation concluded, “race played no role in our officers’ treatment of the individuals who were briefly detained.” It went on to add that responding officers acted reasonably based on the information they were given.
Brown is now considering taking legal action against the police department.
A realtor walking around in a t-shirt and sweatpants? He should be arrested.