Nightmare off Elm Street: My Experience With Police Violence in Greensboro, N.C.

It has been one week today since my experience with police violence and brutality here in Greensboro, NC.  Upon reflection, and in light of what is happening nationally, I feel compelled to share my experience to increase awareness of police violence and a corrupt criminal justice system.  Since 9/11 and the recent wars in the Middle East our police departments and officers have become militarized in their equipment and tactics, and as a result, have turned their departments into bases, and see their brothers and sisters as enemies. Police departments have become less and less unaccountable to the public for which they have been charged to protect and serve. My own experience uncomfortably reminded me of war tactics I learned when I was a Marine serving in Iraq.  I could sense those officers’ internal rage that night.  It is ending the war-mind culture permeating in our policing system that needs our attention. It is ending the discriminatory practices by local, state, and federal law enforcement in targeting our less fortunate brothers and sisters and feeding them, like food, into an economic driven, humanity-deficient, privatized penitentiary system.  The problem is not about the good officers in a bad culture, but, rather those bad officers who are running the culture, and the good officers who are doing little to change it. It has taken a small town in the middle of country to awaken our senses to the truth that something is not right about seeing a lifeless body lying in the street, having learned that the body baked in the sun for 4 hours, without the slightest concern for covering the body up by on-looking police and a frightened citizenry.  And that something is not right about seeing armored vehicles and military-equipped police-persons on our televisions in the land of the leadership of the free world. We should not turn a blind eye to the terrible situation we find ourselves in with an ill-cultured, and corrupt police system, but, rather, open our eyes to the possibility of real change.  Sharing my experience I feel is one small act I can do to incite real change.

 If you are reading this and have yourself been a victim of police violence understand that you did not deserve what happened to you. Understand that you should not feel guilty about what happened to you. You deserve better, and together we can do better by using our minds and bodies to combat this injustice.

Fear and apathy are two major challenges that we face internally and externally in confronting the issue of police violence and corruption in our communities and nationally.  I can tell you police violence and corruption is not a new thing, but an old one resurfacing.  Ask your black and brown brothers and sisters about that.  And it is not something that is going to just go away once the news media decides that they should bring our attention back to Russia’s sanctions on American meat products, or West African countries fight with the Ebola virus, or some celebrity break-up, or who is slotted to win the Super bowl this year.  Like all truths, this one will be waiting for us, immutable, until we give it the care it deserves. It was only a matter of time that police violence and corruption that has been happening for decades against poor black and brown communities would be seen for what it was to upper classes of our society.  

I am not sharing my experience to shine a light on me, but, to cast a light on those who have not yet mustered the courage to share their own experiences with police violence, and for those whose lives were unjustly taken because of police violence and because of a corrupt police culture. I am sharing my experience in solidarity with fallen citizens like Johnathon Ferrell of Charlotte, North Carolina  who was unarmed and fatally shot 12 times after seeking help from neighbors after he had just  gotten into a car accident, and in solidarity with Devin Scales and his brother here in Greensboro who were walking down an unpaved road and was targeted by the police; Devin was able to capture the violence and brutality by a Greensboro police officer on video, and in solidarity with Keith Vidal of Brunswick County, North Carolina, an 18 year old kid who weighed 100 pounds, was tased and subdued by two police officers, assisted by Vidal’s father, and just before the cop fatally shot Keith in the chest he said, “We don’t have time for this.”  I am sharing my experience with those who are slowly waking up to the fact that police is real and it is happening every day.  At the least I hope that after reading my experience some of you will begin asking yourself what you can do to combat, or buffer your own communities against police violence and corruption. Freedom is neither an unalienable right, nor free; it comes with a price.  This is our story:

The following section is not when my assault happened, but I do wish to provide some context leading up to my assault.  It was Sunday evening around 10 pm, August 18^th, and a few friends and I gathered in downtown Greensboro for a night of fun after an exciting day filled with shooting photographs, eating good take out, listening and dancing to popular music videos. Our first stop was in a venue on the main drag; Elm Street. The venue was rather uneventful so I suggested we check out a more popular spot one street over named Green Street club.  As we were approaching Green Street I noticed a few police vehicles parked out along the curb in front of the venue, and about 8 officers gathered around the vehicles on the street. I hadn’t thought about it much, but pretty much everywhere you see a large number of American blacks gathered, there will also be police in the vicinity. Not surprising, the same is true even in California. It is just a reality. Having a friend that works for the venue, I knew beforehand that Green Street on Sunday nights was largely attended by American black people, although diverse, and is an LGBT event.  The sad reality in the South is that spaces are still largely segregated, but even living on the west coast revealed a similar situation. My friends and I breezed through the entrance since there was no line. Once inside we made our way up a few flight of stairs to the roof top floor to try and catch what little breeze we could on a pretty humid night. The top floor is considered the white section. The DJ was playing house music and top 40 club remixes. At first we stood together huddled, but it was no time before we were pulled in a few different directions by acquaintances that wanted to chat it up.  I eventually scooted away and made my way over to the bar for a bourbon.  Our group eventually rejoined and agreed that we could check out the main floor downstairs, and dance a little.  The main floor on the first floor is considered to be the black section.  There the DJ is playing popular music by popular rap artists. We were having a great time.

Around 1:30 am when passing through the lobby and noticed my friends gathered outside on the sidewalk. I assumed that was my cue that everyone was ready to leave so I joined them.  After I joined my friends outside I was informed that one of the guys in our group was asked to leave because someone from the staff saw him handing out flyers for another venue. I thought, fair enough, I can see the conflict of interest, not to mention, the night was nearly over. No big deal I thought. Within a minute after I joined my friends outside a guy advanced toward us from our right and yelled out that our friend who was seen handing out flyers was banned from coming back to the venue. I remember thinking that seems overt. Who was this guy anyway? Having worked in the service industry for some years myself, a reasonable response I felt would have been a request to stop passing out flyers and at worst being asked to leave.  After his announcement I became aware of the guy’s aggressive demeanor. He went on to ban a couple of other friends in our group and eventually banning all of us. Kind of shocked now, I asked him, “Hey, why are you banning all of us, when only one of us was asked to leave?  He said, "Because I can ban whoever I want to." I later found out that the guy was an owner of Green Street, and had strife with the venue where we had come from. The flyers were for that venue. I am sure our friend was unaware of the rivalry.

It is at this point in the story where my assault began.  It was almost immediately after the owner banned us from his venue when I heard a voice over my left shoulder demanding to see my ID.  I turned around to see a cop standing uncomfortably close to me with an outstretched hand.  Regaining my bearing and mustering military protocol I looked down at the officer’s badge and said, “Officer Scarborough, why do you need to see my ID?”  He did not answer me instead he demanded to see my ID.  I then asked, “Why are you requesting to see my ID.  What is the reason?”  I noticed that the group of officers from the street were advancing toward me and one officer echoed Officer Scarborough in asking me to hand over my ID.

My mind became flooded with questions, but I knew that surrendering my ID to a police officer without a reasonable cause was within my rights. Was I being detained? Was I under arrest? Was I suspected of committing a crime? Was I associated with a crime that I was unaware of?  Why was an official pushing for me to surrender my ID? At this point I was not only shocked, but a scared honestly, especially seeing out of the corner of my eye the other officers advancing toward me. However, I stood my ground and asked the officer again why he wanted me to surrender my identification.  After about the third request I made Officer Scarborough told me that because I was just banned from the club and on private property that he would have to enter my information into the system. I thought, so I was trespassing on private property? Is the sidewalk considered private or public property? Why could not I have been given an opportunity to leave if I was trespassing on “private property”? At the same time Officer Scarborough gave me the reason for his demand he gestured toward an industrial laptop sitting on the trunk of one of the police vehicles parked on the street.  Was that the system I was to be put into, the police department’s system? My friends and I were banned from a venue, on the sidewalk and now my information was about to be entered into the police department’s system?  Is not that the essence of…profiling? I remember feeling trapped and just wanting to leave, but I was faced with the obstacle of a group of officers surrounding me. I remember thinking where was the owner, and why was I getting singled out, while my other friends were still standing huddled behind me?

Out of nowhere Officer Scarborough grabbed my left forearm, and pulled out his handcuffs.  Maintaining a calm and professional demeanor I remember asking Officer Scarborough was he placing me under arrest. He said I was; and I asked him why.  Officer Scarborough, or it may have been another officer, said that I was obstructing an investigation. Obstructing an investigation? What investigation? Does an investigation begin with putting a citizen’s ID information into a police department’s system?  I requested to take a moment to speak with an attorney, but my request was not acknowledged. I asked about my Miranda Rights, but that was ignored too (When I was handcuffed at the station one officer informed me that if when arrested your Miranda Rights are not recited to you, what you say cannot be used against you in a trial. This means we no longer have a constitutional or even formal right to remain silent).  In an instant, no less than four officers, maybe five even, were slamming my face and chest onto the trunk of a police vehicle. One officer twisted my arm in a way that has left it sore for nearly a week. The point of impact was so forceful that my hat flew off of my head and onto the top of the vehicle. I can remember thinking was this kind of reaction necessary and appropriate? I was startled that after I was handcuffed  I could still feel the weight of a few officers on me. One officer even put me in a chokehold after I handcuffed; was that necessary? I later identified that officer as Officer F. T. Wright.  The first officer’s name is R. D. Scarborough.  Still in a chokehold I was thrown in the back seat of a police vehicle. When I was in the vehicle I was able to reach my cellphone that was attached to my pants in a hip carrier.  I pulled it out and began to locate the number for an attorney.  An officer opened the door and snatched my phone from my hand.  While in the back seat of the police vehicle my head was ringing probably due to the temporary loss of oxygen to my brain as a result of the chokehold I was put in.

I was taken down to the police station where I was handcuffed to a bench. Officer Wright came over to ask me a few questions, but I was still in shock and disoriented.  I do remember him saying, “All you had to do was just show him your ID.”  I noticed Officer Wright’s hands were shaking (An admission to guilt?) as he scribbled down my address before taking it over to the magistrate’s desk. A different officer came over and returned my phone to me. It was at this moment I snapped the “hand-cuff selfie” you can check out here. It was soon after that I was released and given a court date.  My charge: Resisting an officer of the law by not surrendering my ID while he was conducting an investigation.  

Since my experience that night, a week ago today, I have sought counsel on the matter, and will be hiring an attorney this week.  Although I have not decided to take it to trial, something inside of me is pushing me to do it. I will keep you updated.

I feel that it is important to state too that I do not have the “I hate the pigs” sort of mentality. Prior to my assault I have not had an encounter like this before.  I do not have a criminal record, well, until now.  Quite a few of my military buddies serve with local police departments in the region and as State Patrol officers. In a lot of ways I know how cops operate because of my own military experience. I understand the tedious and stressful task it is to discern what tactics to use when apprehending individuals. I had to commit similar tactics to memory when I served in Iraq. One slip up could have cost me my life and the lives of others.  

 I wonder what really triggered the aggressiveness of Officer Scarborough and the other officers that night. Was it because I was an informed citizen, who knew something about his rights so the officers allowed their angst to get the better of them? And I cannot dismiss the possibility of how my race and/or my sexual orientation may have played a role in shaping the events of that night.  Was I assaulted because I was a well-dressed, and articulate American black man who they thought was being “uppity”? Or was it because I was attending a LGBT event in a state that is known for rampant homophobia from the church to the congress? There was not an officer in the group that was a person of color that night. I cannot help but wonder how these officers perceived the crowd they were charged to police?

I am aware of how things should have gone differently that night.  I question what was going through Officer Scarborough’s mind that night. It could reveal some hard truths as to why police violence happens, and why we are hearing more and more about unarmed citizens being killed by the hands of police. In Officer Scarborough’s mind he was an already decided judge before he approached me.  In Officer Scarborough’s mind he was the judge, the jury, the prosecutor, and the executor over my person. Officer Scarborough never thought he would have to reason with an informed citizen that night.  Even before Officer Scarborough approached me, in his mind, I was already guilty. I had already committed a crime.  I was a criminal. Officer Scarborough was just playing out, in real time, the sequence of events that is ingrained in his mind. Officer Scarborough was not conducting an investigation when he first asked for my ID. His intentions were clear. He wanted to put my information into the police department’s system. It begs the question: why?

An investigation of the situation outside of the venue that night should have begun with a call for assistance from the owner or someone else. No one called over Officer Scarborough that night.  If assistance was requested Officer Scarborough should have approached my friends and I, or the owner, ready to assist. If addressing me, Officer Scarborough should have asked what was going on, and not just demanded my ID.  I would have explained my side of the situation. Officer Scarborough should have taken my story down on pen and pad and if necessary, the stories of some of my friends.  Officer Scarborough should have then found the owner and asked him some questions about what was going on.  In an investigation Officer Scarborough should have gained an awareness of the situation, and then if necessary maybe asked to see our IDs, if there was reasonable suspicion.  Either way, Officer Scarborough should have suggested my friends and I head home before the crowd let out.  We would have agreed. My friends and I would have started walking toward our cars while joking about our buddy about getting banned, and how ridiculous it was that all of us were banned from the venue. We would have hung out on the city block for a few more minutes recapping our night. We would have shaken hands and given each other hugs and then headed for our cars.  It could have been a night to remember. But now it is a nightmare off Elm Street to forget.

My experience that night made me realize something.  I realized that it was not enough to just discuss issues about police violence and corruption on social media, and with friends, and pray about it.  I realized I needed to create real action that will begin to break down an ill police culture.  This is why I have begun a movement called #GREENSBORO4JUSTICE. #GREENSBORO4JUSTICE is a blogspot and a grassroots movement that focuses on bringing awareness to and educating the community about police violence. The goals for #GREENSBORO4JUSTICE are easy we want to educate the community about police violence, empower the community by executing campaign projects that work to put an end police violence in our communities, and work with local lawmakers to begin reforming the criminal justice system. Blogging my experience with police violence is the soft launch of the movement.   Follow the movement and the progress of the campaigns where ever you see #greensboro4justice. We are in the building stages now, and have not fully launched the movement. The movement already has a few dedicated people behind it. This means we need your help. If you feel passionate or are curious about ending police violence in your community, city and state even nationally, and reforming the criminal justice system please reach out to me.

#greensboro4justice