Diamond Robinson, a Black woman who was fined $385 for talking too loudly on her cell phone outside her home, believes that she was racially targeted by her neighbor in Eastpointe, Michigan. The neighbor, a white woman who recently moved into the neighborhood, told Robinson to lower her voice as she was talking on the phone while walking up and down the street near her home.
The white woman then proceeded to call police, who arrived a few minutes later and issued the fine, Fox2 Detroit reported.
"I get a ticket for being a public nuisance because I'm talking too loud on my phone?" Robinson said in a Facebook Live video. "That's why I got a ticket."
In the Facebook video, which shows three officers who responded to the call, Robinson asked police to explain what she did wrong.
"Show me a law that says I can't talk on my phone," she said, adding that police told her she can go to jail for being too loud. "Best believe Eastpointe will be hearing from me because you're harassing me."
Identifying herself as a homeowner and a taxpayer, Robinson continued to speak up for her rights.
"I'm on my phone, walking up and down the block that I pay taxes on," she said. "I'm confused."
Robinson declined to answer the officers' questions then sat on her lawn to clearly illustrate that the property belongs to her.
"I'm trying to figure what they gonna do," she said. "I'm gonna sit right here. I'm trying to figure out what these officers plan to do."
The homeowner remained perplexed as she continued to tell her viewers that police are searching into her background. As the officers drove away after issuing the ticket, Robinson continued to walk outside.
"I guess Rebecca is gonna call the police again," she said, referring to her neighbor. "Because I'm not going in the house. Rebecca from across the street is gonna have to call the police again."
The Eastpointe resident noted that her town is known for racist incidents. A group of Detroit pastors expressed similar sentiments in 2016 when they warned Black people to stay away from the town, The Detroit News reported. One of the pastors, Rev. W.J. Rideout III, said there is a pattern of racism in the city’s police department.
Sam Riddle, political director for the Michigan National Action Network, said the Black residents are well-aware of the town's reputation.
“The shame of it is, we’ve got to designate an American city as unsafe for Black Americans because of the brutality of the police department which engages in systemic racism by not only stereotyping but profiling African-Americans,” Riddle said.
Robinson said she plans to take her case to court and plans to take time off from work because she is stressed and afraid to go outside.
