Performing a good deed won't stop you from getting arrested if you're Black in America.
On the morning of November 17, Samir Ahmed found himself locked out of his home in Silver Springs, Maryland. The 23-year-old producer called a Lyft to a nearby friend's house. While waiting on his car to arrive, Ahmed spotted an intoxicated man in his yard. He picked the gentleman up and escorted the neighbor back to his home. When he returned to meet his ride, he was immediately apprehended by local police.
Ahmed documented the altercation in a now-viral Instagram post and said the officers on the scene believed he was the intoxicated man bystanders called to report and not the individual he just helped.
"After answering all their questions in a respectful manner, one the officers said, 'I think you’re the intoxicated one,'" Ahmed wrote in the post.
Even after witnesses continued defending Ahmed, explaining to the police that they are targeting the wrong man, officers refused to release the good Samaritan.
In another Facebook post, which has been viewed over 8,500 times, the officers are seen laughing at Ahmed's expense, as his father watches his son become yet another victim of excessive force at the hands of the police.
"You're not helping the person who needs the help," one bystander cried.
When another eyewitness continued interrogating the officers, one retorted, "We don't answer to you."
According to WUSA9, the suspicion of marijuana was enough justification for authorities to seize Ahmed. The officers claim Ahmed refused to cooperate with their orders. Following his arrest, he was charged for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, along with other indictments. Ahmed also received a citation for a small amount of marijuana he had in his possession, per WUSA9.
A spokesperson for the Montgomery County Police declined to speak with WUSA9 about the arrest, but the publication writes the charges are set to be worked out in court in January.
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