{"id":54654,"date":"2014-09-08T00:33:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T07:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=54654"},"modified":"2014-12-28T21:06:48","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T04:06:48","slug":"beverly-hills-cops-bust-guy-for-walking-while-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2014\/09\/beverly-hills-cops-bust-guy-for-walking-while-black.html","title":{"rendered":"Beverly Hills Cops Bust Guy for Walking While Black"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Wow<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

WHEN YOU \u201cFIT THE DESCRIPTION\u201d!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of those things that you hear about, but never think it would happen to you.<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, August 22nd around 5:20pm, while innocently walking by myself from a restaurant on Wilshire Blvd, to my car up LaCienega Blvd my freedom was taken from me by the Beverly Hills Police Department.<\/p>\n

Within seconds, I was detained and told to sit on the curb of the very busy street, during rush hour traffic.<\/p>\n

Within minutes, I was surrounded by 6 police cars, handcuffed very tightly, fully searched for weapons, and placed back on the curb.<\/p>\n

Within an hour, I was transported to the Beverly Hills Police Headquarters, photographed, finger printed and put under a $100,000 bail and accused of armed bank robbery and accessory to robbery of a Citibank.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within an evening, I was wrongly arrested, locked up, denied a phone call, denied explanation of charges against me, denied ever being read my rights, denied being able to speak to my lawyer for a lengthy time, and denied being told that my car had been impounded\u2026..All because I was mis-indentified as the wrong \u201ctall, bald head, black male,\u201d \u2026 \u201cfitting the description.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know at the time that I was a law abiding citizen of the community and that in my 51 years of existence, had never been handcuffed or arrested for any reason. All they saw, was someone fitting the description. Doesn\u2019t matter if he\u2019s a \u201cTaye Diggs BLACK\u201d, a \u201cLL Cool J BLACK\u201d, or \u201ca Drake BLACK\u201d<\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know that I was an award nominated and awarding winning business professional, most recently being recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal at their Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards. They didn\u2019t need to because, they saw someone fitting the description.<\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know that I was a well educated American citizen that had received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, an MBA from Indiana University (including a full Consortium Fellowship to business school) and an Executive Leadership Certificate from Harvard Business School. Hey, I was \u201ctall\u201d, \u201cbald\u201d, a \u201cmale\u201d and \u201cblack\u201d, so I fit the description.<\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know that I was a Consultant for the NAACP, a film and tv producer, a previous VP of Marketing for a wireless application company, VP of Integrated Promotions for a marketing agency, ran Community Affairs for the Atlanta Hawks, was the Deputy Director of Olympic Village Operations for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, was a Test\/Quality\/Mfg Engineering Manager for IBM and was a Bond Trader on Wall street. Surely, folks that fit the description wouldn\u2019t qualify as any of those.<\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know that throughout my entire life I have been very active in serving the communities that I have lived in, including Chapter President and National PR Chair for NSBE, a USC Student Senator, a USC Trojan Knight, a USC Engineering Student Council Member, a USC Black Students Council Member, and a Resident Assistant; as well as a founding board member of the RTP NBMBAA, a member of Durham County Transportation Advisory Board, Durham City \/ County Planning Commission, Atlanta House of Love for the Homeless Board, Cobb County Transportation Advisory Board, Georgia CASA Board, United Way of Greater Atlanta VIP Selection Committee, Jomandi Theater Board, Silver Lake Film Festival Board, Downtown LA Film Festival Board, Chaka Khan Foundation Fundraising Dinner Committee, and the USC Black Alumni Association Board. Nawl, not a \u201cblack male\u201d, especially a \u201ctall, bald\u201d one.<\/p>\n

I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn\u2019t know that just hours earlier, I was at one of the finest hotels in their city, handling celebrity talent at a Emmy Awards Gifting Suite, as part of business as usual, and, invited to attend a VIP Emmy pre-party that very night in their city. The guy doing that, just DON\u201dT fit the description.<\/p>\n

What I don\u2019t get\u2026\u2026\u2026WHAT I DON\u201dT GET, is, why, during the 45 minutes that they had me on the curb, handcuffed in the sun, before they locked me up and took away my civil rights, that they could not simply review the ATM and bank\u2019s HD video footage to clearly see that the \u201ctall, bald headed, black male\u201d\u2026 did not fit MY description.<\/p>\n

Why, at 11:59pm (approximately 6 hours later), was the video footage reviewed only after my request to the Lead Detective for the Beverly Hills Police Department and an FBI Agent to do so, and, after being directly accused by another FBI Special Agent of \u201c\u2026going in and out of the bank several times complaining about the ATM Machine to cause a distraction\u2026\u201d thereby aiding in the armed robbery attempt of a bank that I never heard of, or ever been to; and within 10 minutes\u2026\u202610 MINUTES, my lawyer was told that I was being release because it was clear that it was not me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sad thing is, prior to my freedom being taken from me for an easily proven crime I did not commit, I was walking back to my car, by myself, because I needed to check my parking meter, so that I wouldn\u2019t get a ticket and break the law.\u00a0In fact, if it wasn\u2019t for a text message that I was responding to, I would have actually been running up LaCienega Blvd when the first Beverly Hills Police Officer approached me. Running!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to thank GOD, Robin Lola Harrison of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, Robert Dowdy and Attorney Jaaye Person-Lynn , without whom, I am certain that I would still be locked up in the custody of the Beverly Hills Police Department. Based on comments made by a Beverly Hills Police Officer during my booking, and an FBI Special Agent, it appeared that they had tried and convicted me.<\/p>\n

To everyone, especial black males (regardless of height, hair style or particular shade of \u201cblack\u201d) \u2013 Hari Williams, Michael Marcel, Reginald L Shaw, Shawn Carter Peterson, Devon Libran, Aaron D Spears, Cedric Sanders, Cornelius Smith Jr, Catfish Jean, Ashford Thomas, Drew McCaskill, Carlton Jordan, Jawn Murray, AS Lee, Bertrand L Roberson Sr, Deron Benjamin, Hawk Oau, James Alan Belk, Juhahn Jones, Darryl Dunning II, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Stephen Bishop, Logan Alexander, Michael Moore, Brandon Dmico Anderson, Jon Covington, Lamar Stewart, David Mitchell, Gerald Andre Radford, Gerald Edwin Rush II, Gerald Yates, etal, \u2013\u00a0I have always stayed as far away from being on the wrong side of the law as much as possible; so please, be careful. If something like this can happen to ME, it can certainly happen to ANYONE!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Time has come for a change in the way OUR law enforcement officers \u201cserve and protect\u201d us.<\/p>\n

We all do not, FIT THE DESCRIPTION.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Garrison Keillor used to remark that nothing bad ever happens to a writer: it\u2019s all just material. These cops better get used to the fact that they are going to be starring in a movie and they won\u2019t be the heroes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wow. WHEN YOU \u201cFIT THE DESCRIPTION\u201d! It\u2019s one of those things that you hear about, but never think it would happen to you. On Friday afternoon, August 22nd around 5:20pm, while innocently walking by myself from a restaurant on Wilshire Blvd, to my car up LaCienega Blvd my freedom was taken from me by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-54654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-the-growing-police-state"],"yoast_head":"\nBeverly Hills Cops Bust Guy for Walking While Black<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wow. WHEN YOU "FIT THE DESCRIPTION"! It\u2019s one of those things that you hear about, but never think it would happen to you. 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