It's been six months since I was an eyewitness to a disturbing incident in a local public library that will not leave me alone.
Because I don't know what happened before I arrived, I don't know what prompted the librarians to contact the local police about the young man quietly seated in front of a public access PC as I walked in the building. This makes my description of what I subsequently observed incomplete. But I did hear the entirety of the exchange between the police officer - who arrived just after I did - and the young man.
The police officer remained polite and non-confrontational when the young man asked - at a slightly elevated volume - why he was being accosted. When the officer responded that the local police routinely do "drive-bys" at the library, the young man scoffed. He then asked the officer if the librarians - both of whom were standing nearby and never made eye contact with the officer or the young man - had called the police. Remaining polite and impassive, the officer didn't respond to that question as the young man grew increasingly irritated, asking if other people in the library were ever asked to show an ID. Soon after, with no further exchange between the two, the young man picked up his backpack and left the library. I listened to a brief interchange when the librarians thanked the officer for coming and left before the officer did.
I then drove to the park directly adjacent to the library. As I continued processing what I'd witnessed, I noticed the same young man in front of me on the basketball court shooting and retrieving his ball, the backpack nearby. After watching him for about fifteen minutes - wondering what he might be thinking or feeling - I drove home and tried describing to my wife what I'd witnessed. I'm still not sure I know. The young man was black.
Good morning, Pat. I read todays post with my usual interest, but have to admit to a sudden 'stop' when reading the last few words. Like you I wondered what happened that would have resulted in a call to the police. You write that you saw a 'young man seated quietly' ... Hardly a reason to contact the police. And while I appreciate the manner in which the police officer reacted to whatever situation may have occurred before you arrived, again, in my mind I'm seeing someone using a public access computer - at a free public library, and am thinking 'why contact the police'? Is it too easy to think that if there was a reason for a call, a 'real' reason, then the young man would have been a little more agitated and maybe not have gone to the adjoining basketball court? If I was creating a disturbance and the police were called, I seriously doubt I would hang around.
ReplyDeleteI can see why this incident will not leave you alone. I just read it for the first time ten minutes ago and have gone back to read it at least 3 more times since then. And I know I'll read it again and again with the same feeling of bewilderment.
Be well,
Bob
Bob: Thanks for two comments in one day and especially on this post, one I wasn't sure I was ever going to recount here. Recording this incident in my journal on that day back in March, I tried to be careful and write only what I heard and observed, from the time I spent in the library watching the interaction between the young man and the officer, right through to the time I then spent in my car. I've since re-read my journal entry more than a dozen times, trying to make sense of what I heard and saw. More significantly, I keep returning to what this young man might have thought or felt as he left that public space. The ONLY thing I'm sure about is that this incident reminded me - once again - how fortunate I am to be white.
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