Video of Pontiac Man Stopped for Hands in Pockets Gets National Attention (video)
(C. Proxmire, Nov. 29, 2014)
A cell phone video taken by a Pontiac resident on Thanksgiving Day has had over 1,300,000 views on Facebook and over 11,000 views on You Tube. The video shows Brandon McKean conversing with an Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy after the Deputy stopped McKean walking on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard near Michigan Avenue.
In near-freezing temperatures, McKean was walking with his hands in his pockets.
The Deputy told McKean that someone had contacted the department claiming there was a suspicious person in the area.
When asked why he was being stopped, McKean was told “You were walking by and you were making people nervous. They said you had your hands in your pocket.”
The Deputy asked McKean what he was up to.
“Walking with my hands in my pockets,” McKean replied.
The Deputy asked “Does it make you nervous talking to me right now?”
“Hell yeah,” McKean said. “because of all the police situation going across the country, this is outrageous…”
The Deputy said “Well we do have a lot of robberies,” and then offered McKean a high five.
The video has been picked up by websites nationally, and been woven into the discourse of race in communities with large black populations and largely white law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies frequently respond to calls about “suspicious persons” or “suspicious vehicles” by questioning the subject.
McKean is receiving reactions from all around the country about the video on his Facebook Page. “Supporting you from Middleburg, Fl. So smart of you to video that incident. Who DOESN’T walk with their hands in their pockets when it is cold. Unbelievable. So sorry you had to go through this,” one woman wrote.
“In disbelief this am when I read this getting ready for work. Awesome footage ,you handled it well, this video is shared quickly here in ATL, thanks for sharing,” someone posted.
Another woman in Indiana wrote “Of course just as everyone else I salute you and compliment you on the common sense you used instead of feeding him ignorance and ending up in a different situation. If WE all learned to handle them that way since they feel we all ignorant, thugs, drug dealers, etc we’ll all end up in peaceful situations like this one. I applaud you and take my hat off because not only did you stand up for yourself and your rights but sharing your video could’ve just helped 1000s of young black to understand how to handle these situations and will likely end up with different results. Thanks for taking a stand and teaching our children and black men how to respond to these circumstances.”
The American Civil Liberties Union provides a guide for people to know their rights when they are stopped by law enforcement officials, which is available at https://www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform-immigrants-rights-racial-justice/know-your-rights-what-do-if-you.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department has not yet responded to a request to comment. This story will be updated if a statement is made or any more information becomes available.
The video can also be found at http://youtu.be/9_wLTmnKP5I.