#livingwhileblack

1 week till release day! 🎉

I can’t wait for you all to see it: https://bit.ly/LWBlack

One morning a police officer in Boulder, Colorado, observed a man picking up trash “in a partially enclosed patio area directly behind a ‘Private Property’ sign,” and “initiated contact with the man to determine if he was allowed to be on the property.” The man told the officer that he lived there, and showed his identification. The officer thanked him for his time, wished him a pleasant day, and continued on his way.

Oh, wait, no. The man was black.

So the (white) officer kept the (black) man’s identification card, pulled out his gun, started shouting orders at him, and called for back-up.

Fortunately for the black man--though not for the police--a neighbor began to record the incident on video:

“The officer, holding a gun in his right hand, refers to the tool [the trash grabber he was using to pick up garbage] as a weapon and orders the man to put it down. The officer radioed for back-up, saying the man was ‘being uncooperative and unwilling to put down a blunt object’ ... Within minutes, other officers arrived on the scene, at least one holding a shotgun.”

The man (whose name has not been released) was understandably upset: “You’re on my property with a gun in your hand, threatening to shoot me because I’m picking up trash.” The police ultimately determined that the man had a legal right to be on the property, returned his identification, and left. Without arresting him for Picking Up Trash While Black.

Or just shooting him dead.

My latest in today’s Boston Globe. See it on the Globe site here: