Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, is under scrutiny after a viral video captured a confrontation between two police officers on campus and a Black student who was accused of showing a fake ID.
The clip begins with one of the officers grabbing the Black student’s hands as he insists that he didn’t do anything wrong. Another young man who recorded the incident is heard in the video trying to make a case for his friend.
“Why are you grabbing him? Let him go,” the witness says repeatedly while the officer is seen aggressively grabbing the Black student on camera.
The confrontation continues for several minutes as the officer grabs the student by the shoulders and claims that the student hit him. Fortunately, the officer has a partner who attempts to calm the situation as the young man proceeds to verbally defend himself, insisting that he did not touch the officer. After a moment, the student is finally allowed to go into his backpack and retrieve his identification.
The student removes his wallet, pulls out his ID, and hands it to the officer, saying, “Tell me if this is fake or not.”
Still, the officer insists on seeing another ID.
“That’s his only ID,” says the friend recording the incident.
“Open up your wallet, let me see all of them,” demands the officer.
Imagine being racially profiled on campus of your school for 3 days in a row. That’s what happened to This young brother at Oakland University (Detroit/Auburn hills) after being accosted by the police & being forced to show his ID only to then be accused of it being a Fake ID. pic.twitter.com/Z7ifnnprmA
— C.J. Lawrence (@CJLawrenceEsq) October 3, 2022
The obviously frustrated young man then pulls out various types of cards from his wallet and throws them to the ground.
“You wanna see a f**king card, n***a,” he says.
Later in the clip, the witness says his peer has been racially profiled on campus for three days in a row. In the end, the student retrieves his ID and walks away from the officers while telling them he plans to sue the school.
Several people on social media are defending the Oakland University student.
https://twitter.com/AidanTottenham/status/1577399568710311936
i have never heard of a college that doesn’t allow visitors? so what if he was there just visiting? it’s not like he’s trying to sneak into a classroom. It just looks like a big, public building.
— Emily Spiderman (@e_spyy) October 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/dgotte75/status/1577323367228751872
White racist cops see Black ppl as inferior beings who don’t deserve the courtesy of respectful communication. They talk at Black ppl not to us. They instigate every interaction even when we’re peaceful. We’re damned if we do or don’t with American police.
— NoOneIsFree (@1HumanLife_) October 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/theetrillestt_/status/1577281730246868992
Oakland University has not yet released a public statement regarding the incident.