Austin police swarm white man for walking with black granddaughter

It sounds like some good citizen went into panic mode and called police while following a man and his granddaughter.

The caller was driving and the man was walking.

It seems the man however, is a journalist-turned-political consultant.

He stated that he has had problems before !!

Wonder why ?

The Austin Police Department (APD) was unapologetic Wednesday after a swarm of officers detained a white man over the weekend, simply for walking home with his black granddaughter.

As it happens, that man was journalist-turned-political consultant Scott Henson, who writes the blog Grits for Breakfast, covering criminal justice reform issues. In a lengthy post filed Saturday, Henson explains that he and his granddaughter were confronted by a swarm of officers who arrived in nine or 10 patrol cars, simply because he was seen walking home with his granddaughter from a local recreational center.

Speaking to Raw Story, the APD denied any allegations of racism, insisting that the call came in from a civilian female who frantically followed the pair in her vehicle while calling 911. “I’m not sure if it was a staff member there at the rec center, but it was somebody who saw it happen,” a police spokeswoman said.

Saw WHAT "happen" ?


Strange Story

Caution or Over-reactions ?

See Something Say Something gone wild ?

I have seen to many stories over the years and the 5 most recent ones involving police murdering civilians now this. Luckily he wasn't shot because they are trigger happy.

There have been times up here in ultra-white bread America that after going months without seeing anything but white you'd see a non-white person.

In my mind I wondered if any nut would freak and call the cops and what would the cops do.

I guess I have my answer now.

See something say something.

Originally posted by xuenchen
Saw WHAT "happen" ?

my exact words after reading the article. my god they are creating an atmosphere of distrust among our people, as if we needed more.

reply to post by KonigKaos


I dont think its much about the police, more the public's response to this situation. . Maybe the man was shouting at her and she was crying? I dont know, but as bad as it is, but people are too quick to overreact on their closed minded beliefs. I can imagine people not been able to see how the child would of been of some relation to the old man, or even something lesser like a friend of the family. Its just wrong that somebody could make such an assumption, if there was nothing to go by.

But then the question of, what is something to go by and when do you take action on your instinct of something happening, which you think you have a chance of stopping.

The initial situation may seem like an overreaction from both parties but, if either were wrong in the actions they took, maybe something much worse would of happened

This is a tough one.
Police were doing their job.

However they shouldn't of been so overzealous.
They talked to the girl and she confirmed it was her grandfather.
The need for cuffs was overkill.

Originally posted by LittleBlackEagle

Originally posted by xuenchen
Saw WHAT "happen" ?

my exact words after reading the article. my god they are creating an atmosphere of distrust among our people, as if we needed more.

If you read the article it clearly states the caller said they saw them run into the woods and the child had been kidnapped.... I'm not sure what I think about this.Like the article says this was just a caller who jumped the gun..it's hard to fault the police in this case for doing their jobs.I'm not sure what the big deal is.

reply to post by grey580


And the 9 or 10 patrol cars.

Seems like this little town has a staffing problem. An over-staffing problem.

Even if it was a straight-up kidnapping 10-20 cops responding?

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


The next time someone pisses me off I think I might pick up a pay phone and make an anonymous "tip" of the person doing a severe crime. Then watch and laugh as a swat team takes them down and "detains" them over the weekend. Sure beats the old trick of calling in pizzas to someones house, huh?

Gotta love living in a reactionary society.

reply to post by xuenchen



not the 1st time either, but these incidents are good demonstrations of the stupidity of racism

In the bizarre tale, Henson explains that this was not his first time being detained by Austin police for appearing in public with his granddaughter, but it certainly was the most frightening of his two experiences. Babysitting his granddaughter Ty, 5, last Friday night, Henson explains that as they walked home from the Millennium Youth Center in east Austin, a female deputy confronted the pair and asked the girl to identify the man she was with.

He claims that she did three separate times, and that they were let go. As they continued their walk home, “Ty was angrier about this, even, than I was,” he explains, and she began asking questions.
****
“After the cuffs were off, I said nothing to the APD cops as I carried the child away toward home,” he writes. “But I did pause when I passed the deputy constable – who still could barely look me in the eye – to say aloud to her, ‘You knew better. This is on you.’”

www.rawstory.com...

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Yeah. What's up with that.
3 or 4 patrol cars i can understand.
but 10. excessive.

Originally posted by xuenchen
It sounds like some good citizen went into panic mode and called police while following a man and his granddaughter.

The caller was driving and the man was walking.

It seems the man however, is a journalist-turned-political consultant.

He stated that he has had problems before !!

Wonder why ?

The Austin Police Department (APD) was unapologetic Wednesday after a swarm of officers detained a white man over the weekend, simply for walking home with his black granddaughter.

As it happens, that man was journalist-turned-political consultant Scott Henson, who writes the blog Grits for Breakfast, covering criminal justice reform issues. In a lengthy post filed Saturday, Henson explains that he and his granddaughter were confronted by a swarm of officers who arrived in nine or 10 patrol cars, simply because he was seen walking home with his granddaughter from a local recreational center.

Speaking to Raw Story, the APD denied any allegations of racism, insisting that the call came in from a civilian female who frantically followed the pair in her vehicle while calling 911. “I’m not sure if it was a staff member there at the rec center, but it was somebody who saw it happen,” a police spokeswoman said.

Saw WHAT "happen" ?


Strange Story

Caution or Over-reactions ?

See Something Say Something gone wild ?

The article says whomever called the police said they saw a white man run into the woods with a black girl away from the youth center and was chased by several staff members whom seem to be the ones who called the police. The police responded to a reported kidnapping so you can not fault them. What is odd is how much the staffs story and the guys story conflict.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by grey580

 

And the 9 or 10 patrol cars.

Seems like this little town has a staffing problem. An over-staffing problem.

Even if it was a straight-up kidnapping 10-20 cops responding?

Have to agree with you there,it was definately overkill.Most small pd's have multiple units respond for the silliest things though.This,while a serious accusation,was still a bit much.

reply to post by Rockpuck


This is what scares me most. What constitutes probable cause. Can anyone really call about anything they personally find strange?, and without any investigating, get you cuffed. These days questioning or arguing with the police what so ever could end in a really bad situation.

Stop the maddness!

In a weird kinda way, for a second, I thought I would prefer vidio servalience on every corner opposed to vindictive calls to the police.

reply to post by Rockpuck


Yeah. I've been wondering why it doesnt happen more often.

"Swatting" has been a consistent and growing problem for a couple of decades now yet everytime it comes up there doesnt seem to be any follow through at all. We're just supposed to accept it as the cost of doing business I guess.

The key to not getting in trouble yourself is to come up with some believable yet dumb as # excuse for why you called in the "tip."

It'd be so easy to call the cops for every brown bag you see on the street, every note in the trash, every "suspicious" person.....

We could run them ragged and bankrupt them if we really "said something" every time we "see something."

And it's be their fault for fostering a nation of paranoid lunatics afraid of shadows.

The police reacted to a citizen that "frantically followed the pair" and acted in a display of force to control a potential dangerous situation. Why so many officers responding? Hard to say. Maybe a slow day. Maybe they had some officers in training. But you "pile on police haters" don't apply any thought.

Now had the situation been a white man kidnapping a black girl from a rec center with the girl being harmed because the police didn't react with enough force or urgency, you'd be calling for their heads.

You boys are embarrassing.

Originally posted by Wetpaint72
reply to post by Rockpuck

 

This is what scares me most. What constitutes probable cause. Can anyone really call about anything they personally find strange?, and without any investigating, get you cuffed. These days questioning or arguing with the police what so ever could end in a really bad situation.

Stop the maddness!

In a weird kinda way, for a second, I thought I would prefer vidio servalience on every corner opposed to vindictive calls to the police.

I don't know where you've been but it's always been that way where I live.It's scary,if i wanted to I could call and say my neighbor's selling drugs/dealing them.I could also call and say they're abusing their children.Can't fault the police for that though,people make false accusations all the time,usually out of spite.It's their job to investigate and eventually figure out it's unfounded.

reply to post by nightstalker78


Dont say they are selling drugs or abusing their children.

You say you believe they may be selling drugs or there may be some abuse going on.

That way you're off the hook and they're trapped in the system for months having their lives turned upside down. If in some sort of public employment they may even loose their jobs.

But you did the right thing because you were concerned.

reply to post by MattNC


The original call was a man running with a kid into the woods.
Not calmly walking a girl down the street.

Should they have responded. Of course.
But really. How many cops does it take to determine whether or not this guy was her grandfather.

On the flip side. These 10 cops were wasting their time. When they could of actively been searching for the real kidnapper. If there was one to begin with. What if by all of them being there questioning this guy the little girl could of been hurt?

Crikey! whats the USof A becomming?
This is the product of programming by social agencies.
The goverment has the idea it can rule easier by making everyone the same....
The goverment (ones of any stripe whatsoever) are , by their very inception anti freedom...no matter what goverement....
This is an obvious rule and fact if you think about it....and the longer they rule, the nore stringent and ridiculous the laws they make, and the things they fear and do......
The cops act like they are trained to act
Like some above the law superior being who can be judge jury and even executioner in the right circumstances.....If they didnt teach the pigs to look down on the people they are hired to serve, they wouldnt act like they do......
Look at the militarisation of the police....
I grew iup with no swat teams running around with automatic weapons and all the black gear.....
Now at the least excuse, out they come with their weapons to the fore....
smashing down doors the open and killing peoples loyal pets....
The police are nowt but trained bullies who think they can get away with murder,and do......