Imagine coming home from church with your grandmother and ending up in the back of a cop car. That happened to 18-year-old Akil Carter, who was heading home with his white grandmother Sunday when he was handcuffed by Wauwatosa Police in Wisconsin on suspicion of robbery, according to the Journal Sentinel.
The New York Daily News reports Wauwatosa Police captain Brian Zalewski said a black couple alerted an officer on patrol about two men sitting in the back of a Lexus, attempting to rob a white woman. The police pulled over the grandmother's blue Lexus and Carter was detained for about six minutes.
Police video shows the officers instructing Akil to raise his arms and exit the car. He is then told to walk backwards towards the officers. He complied without comment.
Officers rushed to ensure Akil's grandmother was okay, and she let them know what was really going on.
“I’m telling you this is my grandson. This is my best friend. I’ve known him since he was a baby,” the grandmother told the officer, who explained the report he received from a black man.
“I’m sure he saw two old white ladies in a car with a black kid and made some assumptions,” the grandmother replied. She also added she believed it was "even worse" that a black man reported it.
Questioned by police, Akil identified the other person in the car as a friend of his grandmother's.
“I’m guessing what this sounds like is a really big misunderstanding. I’m not exactly quite sure what’s going on,” the officer told the family.
Carter recently retained attorney Joy Bertrand, who believes she does know what was going on, and who claims her client was harassed.
"After we take a look at whatever basis they have for stopping and harassing this family, we will be able to comment further," said Bertrand. "Once we take a look at those documents, we will have further comment."
Bertrand has requested all documents from the police department in relation to the arrest, including dispatch reports.
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