Early Tuesday morning/late Monday night, Wyclef Jean posted a series of tweets after an incident involving himself, some LAPD officers, a red bandana and a pair of handcuffs. The gist of the story is that Wyclef was apparently driving back to his hotel from the studio late Monday night and he was pulled over, handcuffed and placed in custody because he “looked like” a suspect in an armed robbery. My guess is that the description of the robbery suspect was “a black guy,” and the LAPD just started pulling over and handcuffing black guys and one of those guys happened to be Wyclef Jean. These are Wyclef’s tweets:
I was asked by the police to Put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly hand cuffed before being asked to identify myself
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
Nor was I told why I was being cuffed. In the process I said my name and told them they have wrong person.
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
They proceeded to ignore me and I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person.
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
I am sure no father wants his sons or daughters to see him in Handcuffs especially if he is innocent.
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
As some one who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behavior of the LAPD.
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
Clef also posted two videos to his social media. One was an Instagram video where he tells the LAPD officers (while he’s in handcuffs) that they have the wrong guy and that he’s going to sue them. He says it calmly, but you can tell he’s upset. Then there’s this video:
LAPD another case of mistaken identity. Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but im in handcuffs? pic.twitter.com/vjRfJUkooA
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) March 21, 2017
Wyclef’s spokeswoman issued a statement to People Magazine as well, saying that Wyclef wasn’t even driving the car, he had a driver, and when the LAPD pulled over the care, “he was brutally removed from the vehicle and subject to police brutality, racial profiling, police bias and the ongoing discriminatory practices of law enforcement officials which remain rampant throughout the United States and for which the L.A. Sheriff’s office is deeming a case of mistaken identity.” The spokeswoman says that Wyclef is “requesting a formal investigation into racial profiling by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAPD chief Charlie Beck and the LA Sheriff’s Department while calling upon the ACLU and Black Lives Matter to join him in defense of civil liberties and racial bias.”
For its part, the LAPD is basically apologizing for “any inconvenience” and they point out that Wyclef was only detained for “six minutes” before clearing him of any crime. While six minutes makes it sound like little more than an inconvenience and a random story about that time the LAPD thought he was an armed robber, let’s also admit that there was little reason to pull him out of a chauffeur-driven car and place him in handcuffs, right?
Update: Wyclef was actually detained by the LA County Sheriff’s deputies, not the LAPD. The LAPD didn’t detain him.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
6 minutes is enough for a “scared” cop to kill you. So actually it’s problem and I hope he sues and donates the money. No excuses for pulling a passenger out of a car and not even doing the basics like asking for ID.
We have some of the worst police force of any first world country.
This! They would never have subjected a white man to such treatment. He should sue because his civil rights were violated.
Yeah, but he was all like, black, and you know, scary! You know most black men are probably up to something. Like all those women who smile at you in social situations – you know they want you! Thems just police facts!
Anybody ever Chris Rock appearance on Seinfelds web series Comedians in Cars. They are driving some fancy car pretty slow and then they get pulled over. The cop approaches the car from the pedestrians side. Guess where Chris, the black guy, in the car was sitting. You guessed it, the pedestrian side. The show ends at that point intentionally leaving it hanging because frankly, that ending is all you need to know about America. It was a very poignant end. Btw, in some three seasons, that was the only time Jerry Seinfeld has ever been stopped by cops.
“6 minutes is enough for a “scared” cop to kill you.”
EXACTLY.
“We have some of the worst police force of any first world country.”
I would say also some of the most stupid, if they think armed robbers use chauffeur services as getaway drivers.
Well that too. They screen OUT people with high IQs. It’s ridiculous that three months and a BS psych eval is enough for a badge and gun. In other countries they have training for a year or more.
Seriously? Screening out bright people? Well, I suppose it figures.
And I’ve just read Ophelia below, so I get it a bit more now.
Mind you, don’t think it’s necessarily any better here in the UK. Our police aren’t even armed usually but obviously have armed response units. Mr Sixer (ex British Army) often tells a story about twice being at an army range when armed police units were training and behaved so irresponsibly with their guns that the marshal threw them out.
EDIT: I misread your comment. But that doesn’t surprise me. We have toddlers killing people here because idiots can own a gun in America. Guns for everyone!
That just made me actually LOL. Now I feel bad!
But now I LOLd for nothing!
99% of all policing can be done here without firearms. And you know, our worst criminals do have guns and a lot more have other weapons. I sometimes wonder how much of your policing actually needs armed officers but of course it’s hard to say as the populace, criminal or otherwise, is also more likely to be armed.
That said, when you do give our officers guns, the same things happen. The London riots of 2011 were sparked off by the police shooting a black guy.
Guns do seem to make everything worse. Without fail.
Wasn’t Mark Duggan an armed criminal, sixer? At last that is what was reported in my country.
Mark Duggan was a criminal. Armed is still argued. Whether or not he should have been shot is still argued. Inquest verdict is still argued. If you want my personal view – the situation with him could and should have been resolved without anybody being shot.
My point is that if you give guns to policemen, people will get shot and some of them will be shot when the situation could have been successfully resolved without anyone being shot.
But more, that it isn’t unique to the United States that this stuff happens. Nor is racist policing – for example, the awful thing that happened to that guy Theo in France, or indeed, this guy:
http://www.itv.com/news/london/2017-03-16/police-officer-charged-over-smashing-car-windscreen/
An incident of racial profiling by police – driving while black – resulting in violence by law enforcement.
More than enough, they killed Tamir Rice less than 20 seconds after arriving.
That makes me so sick and angry! And the 911 operator who failed to relay the message the 911 caller made stating that it was probably a CHILD with a FAKE gun was only suspended for 8 DAYS and not fired.
Rest in peace young man. His poor sister forced to watch him die.
I feel like throwing up.
That’s what I thought too when I read that yesterday night. *Only* getting handcuffed and not being shot at for the crime of driving while black seems like a best case scenario and it’s freacking terrible!
I’m so sad and tired of hearing people portraying this kind of stuff as the exception! Even being rich, famous and in a “minority-friendly” area can’t stop you from being pulled over for being a black man wearing a hoodie and driving… I can’t even think about the daily aggressions *regular* people have to go through.
You’re right.six minutes is long enough for an escalation and shooting. What an effed up country. Not that Canada is much better toward black men either, but it seems not shoot first ask questions later as much.
Being handcuffed and with all the stories of police brutality out there, those six minutes would seem like six hours to many people. I would be terrified.
The LAPD still aren’t doing themselves any favours.
《let’s also admit that there was little reason to pull him out of a chauffeur-driven car and place him in handcuffs, right?》
White person driving another white person sitting next to them: most probably friend
White person driving another white person sitting behind them with the front passenger seat empty: most probably chauffeur
Black person driving a white person sitting anywhere: could be a friend but most probably a driver (whom the master deigns to consider friend).
White person driving a black person sitting anywhere: have no self respect, or being very merciful or the sensible designated driver.
Black person driving another black person sitting behind them with front seat empty: most probably chauffeur of a criminal.
Black person driving another black person sitting next to them: most probably accomplice of a crime, and if a crime hasn’t happened yet, let’s stop them anyway before some white kid got hurt.
Black person driving alone: easy bait, let’s mess him up.
Facts are that six minutes would be enough to kill him and probably give them some cover up time, the extra time might end up accounting for why they’re going to get them off once they do kill him
It wasn’t much of an apology. Basically the police said it was within their rights and Wyclef was hostile.
Being roughly detained for six minutes for a crime you didn’t commit and have little resemblance to is unacceptable regardless of length of time. Being roughly detained in general, regardless of status of innocence, is pretty unacceptable unless you’re dangerously violent.
Hey down at the courthouse with a disabled , elderly homeless friend, she called the court security aholes ( no one says she is perfectly mentally balanced after all she has been through) and a court officer threatened to evict her (even though she had an order to appear) because his miniscule selfhood couldn’t handle the insult. So what happened to the second amendment? Since Trump police and government officials think they can do what they want.
30 seconds is enough to kill him. Wyclef was lucky he wasn’t shot.
No words because this is standard for ‘driving while black’. Just don’t go outside as ‘black’, ok’? Then you should be fine.
Doesn’t work that way, sadly. You can be mindin’ your own business and not going outside, you can be asleep and they’ll still kick your door in. Like they did to Stormzy who was “lucky” it was only his door, or Denise Stewart who was “not so lucky”. This is also a time when you get 6 minutes in cuffs instead of a 3 seconds death sentence is considered lucky; when you have only a door broken down instead of your dignity, is considered lucky. It’s not driving while black, it’s 《trying to stay alive while black》.
I hope he sues everyone and everything that had anything to do with this clusterf-k.
Police brutality, racial profiling and bias inclination that a “black man” could be doing criminal offenses. So DONALD TRUMP is this your idea of “UNIFYING” America Great Again.
Terrifying 6 minutes. Must have felt like an eternity to him 🙁
Terrible and it happens every damn day. Wicked literally has a song about this from 20 years ago.
He is one of the All Lives Matter people, he stated his position .How ironic because BLM addresses racial profiling,police brutality,etc.
wow…. so we cant live while black….wow
FFS
I wish the white people in this country (I am one) would wake the hell up and realize that it’s only about 6 MORE minutes until whites also will start being pulled over indiscriminately, searched and detained. If you don’t care about anyone else, how about having some self preservation and realize it can and will happen to you soon as well. A militarized law enforcement sees citizens as the enemy. Period. How much more does the African American community have to suffer for people to demand that this be stopped?? Doesn’t matter where you are in the country today, there is undoubtedly crap like this going on–so email your mayors today and demand them to work against unlawful stops.
Agree completely.
Police violence against unarmed black civilians is not on the decline, it’s just not at the forefront of the news because Dump is stealing all the headlines with his insane administration. I really want to see how he will handle the next high-profile shooting of an unarmed black person (if he addresses it at all) because his administration is clearly of the blue lives matter sort.
If anybody is interested I’ve been listening to a great podcast called Embedded that uncovers the story behind the story of police shootings. It’s impossible to listen to without getting emotional but I think it’s really important that we continue to explore the systemic issues that lead to these murders by the people who should be protecting all of us.
Also this is a good one I listened to last night about police violence (“Police Violence Didn’t Just Stop Happening”):
https://getcrookedmedia.com/with-friends-like-these-aeee91fa31da#.fexyoazd4
We need to make sure that we stay on this–all of us–because the BLM movement shouldn’t be put on the backburner by whites; innocent people’s lives are on the line.
” How much more does the African American community have to suffer for people to demand that this be stopped??” It will stop when we finally band together and make it stop – using whatever level of force is required.
#standandfight.
Let’s look at the actual facts, shall we? The police get called to investigate an armed robbery. Specifically, a man and a woman were Robbed at Gunpoint and Beaten. The police were given a description of a black man with a dark hoodie who fled in a gold or tan Toyota. The police stopped a vehicle matching that description, and briefly detained Wyclef, who they were able to determine was not involved. The police briefly handcuffed him during this detention probably (I’m assuming) for officer safety. Because they were looking for an armed suspect. Wyclef was released within 6 minutes. This is how police find suspects. Do you want them to say sorry victims that you were robbed and beaten, but since you described a black man with a hoodie, we aren’t going to try and solve this one. Too politically unpopular for us! The police were doing their jobs and deserve to be safe while doing it too.
Several articulate points have already been made about why this is a problem.” Fitting the description” is coded language the Black community is familiar with. It’s used to stop any black male or female. If they are searching for a black male, 20s-30s, with facial hair, who is 5’11, you fit the description with black male. The fact they handcuffed him without stating the reason or purpose is wrong. Then the police become upset and erratic when you ask why and do not like being detained without knowing the cause. They become violent when you express you know your rights. All they had to do as check his ID respectfully. All of this could have been avoided.