Man Arrested for

[EmeraldCity]

being black in a bank..


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2007/09/10/ronan.mistaken.arrest.WFAA




ah Texas.. you'll never change will you?

[MJC]

Link doesn't work.

[Brad Barton]

being black in a bank..Right, and I'm sure that's all there was to it...

Working Link?

[Michael P]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/09/10/ronan.tx.bank.robbery.mistake.wfaa

Looks like the fault was that of two assholes in the bank.

[EmeraldCity]

Right, and I'm sure that's all there was to it...

Working Link?

show me what else it was....


edit link fixed..

[Mike Smash!]

Serves him right. You know, I try to be tolerant and all that and I don't care if he's black behind closed doors in the privacy of his home, but he really shouldn't push his blackness on people in public. Keep it at home, pal.

[EmeraldCity]

Serves him right. You know, I try to be tolerant and all that and I don't care if he's black behind closed doors in the privacy of his home, but he really shouldn't push his blackness on people in public. Keep it at home, pal.

lol

He was doing suspicious activities, such as, laughing with an employee and trying to get a car loan!

[Jack Zodiac]

I feel really bad for the guy, but this isn't the police's fault. It's some asshole who works at that bank and thought the black man was obviously there to rob them.

[EmeraldCity]

I feel really bad for the guy, but this isn't the police's fault. It's some asshole who works at that bank and thought the black man was obviously there to rob them.


Oh no doubt, the police did their job... and luckily for him they did their job without hurting or killing him.. they just reacted on information fed to them from the bank.. but doesn't make it any better for him..

[Brad Barton]

show me what else it was....A retarded bank teller who was seeing "suspicious activity" where there was none?

I don't see why you automatically made the connection that "It's because he was black!!" The News Story didn't hint at anything like that, and neither did the victim himself.

That said, I've been to Frisco, and, uh, yeah....it's predominantly white.

[Chris N]

I agree the police did their jobs correctly and the problem lies with the bank employees. Wells Fargo probably deserves to be sued.

Though I'm confused how the police figured out which car was the suspect's and got his cell phone number. If they could figure out who he was, presumably they could figure out he wasn't armed. Can somebody explain what I'm missing?

[EmeraldCity]

A retarded bank teller who was seeing "suspicious activity" where there was none?

I don't see why you automatically made the connection that "It's because he was black!!" The News Story didn't hint at anything like that, and neither did the victim himself.

That said, I've been to Frisco, and, uh, yeah....it's predominantly white.

　looks a lot like racial profiling to me..

but really, when have banks started doing preemptive bank robbing strikes :p

[Brad Barton]

but really, when have banks started doing preemptive bank robbing strikes :pI want to see the Bank Surveillance video, see this supposed "suspicious activity" that was enough to warrant a call to 911.

[EmeraldCity]

I want to see the Bank Surveillance video, see this supposed "suspicious activity" that was enough to warrant a call to 911.

This pretty much goes against all banks' policy to begin with.. if you are getting robbed or about to get robbed.. do nothing give up the money, let the police handle it later. if you don't get hurt or killed calling the police you'll create a hostage situation. So in short the tellers are jackholes

[glue]

Though I'm confused how the police figured out which car was the suspect's and got his cell phone number. If they could figure out who he was, presumably they could figure out he wasn't armed. Can somebody explain what I'm missing?

I would assume the police can look up information on their little databases. I don't think whether a person is armed at the time is one of them.

Seriously, though, if this happened in Texas and the cops didn't shoot the Black man then they didn't do their job. Or so it would seem.

[Chris N]

I would assume the police can look up information on their little databases. I don't think whether a person is armed at the time is one of them.

Seriously, though, if this happened in Texas and the cops didn't shoot the Black man then they didn't do their job. Or so it would seem.

But then they knew the suspect's name. How was he ID'd without noticing the lack of gun?

I'm just a bit confuzed

[Brad Barton]

Seriously, though, if this happened in Texas and the cops didn't shoot the Black man then they didn't do their job. Or so it would seem.Well, speaking as one who actually lives in Texas, I can tell you that the Cops here are equal opportunity haters. -- They'll fuck with anyone and everyone they think they can get a dime out of, yours truly included. (and I'm as White as they come.)

So they're not racist pricks here, they're just pricks in general.

[EmeraldCity]

I agree the police did their jobs correctly and the problem lies with the bank employees. Wells Fargo probably deserves to be sued.

Though I'm confused how the police figured out which car was the suspect's and got his cell phone number. If they could figure out who he was, presumably they could figure out he wasn't armed. Can somebody explain what I'm missing?


actually they cuffed him and asked him for his weapon a number of times. They also cuffed his wife and little girl outside. Maybe they knew he didn't have a legal weapon, but that doesn't mean a lot in this situation

[Michael P]

But then they knew the suspect's name. How was he ID'd without noticing the lack of gun?


You missed the part where it said the cops yanked his girlfriend and her kid out of the running car outside. I'd imagine she told them his name.

[EmeraldCity]

You missed the part where it said the cops yanked his girlfriend and her kid out of the running car outside. I'd imagine she told them his name.

And his cellphone number.. where they called him and told him to come on out

[glue]

Well, speaking as one who actually lives in Texas, I can tell you that the Cops here are equal opportunity haters. -- They'll fuck with anyone and everyone they think they can get a dime out of, yours truly included. (and I'm as White as they come.)

So they're not racist pricks here, they're just pricks in general.

I also live in Texas (grew up in Nacogdoches, now live in Houston) and while I'm not implying that all cops are racist, there are more than a few that consider brown skin to be both suspicious and a sign of agression. Granted my view is a little biased as my dad is a civil rights attorney and the two places I've lived (especially East Texas) are among "the worst of the worst", but there's plenty around the state and I'd venture a guess that it is more severe here than in most states.

[mattx110]

I also live in Texas (grew up in Nacogdoches, now live in Houston) and while I'm not implying that all cops are racist, there are more than a few that consider brown skin to be both suspicious and a sign of agression. Granted my view is a little biased as my dad is a civil rights attorney and the two places I've lived (especially East Texas) are among "the worst of the worst", but there's plenty around the state and I'd venture a guess that it is more severe here than in most states.

if we assume every origin of hate is a fringe element, we don't do anything to stop it because it's not a big enough problem. but it always is. 5 people decide they hate mexican restaurants, more than just the 5 people and a few restaurants will wind up feeling the effects. they might even start recruiting. the restaurants might try to be more pro-active because the cops aren't protecting them. irrational hate is the fastest way to escalate any situation.

[glue]

if we assume every origin of hate is a fringe element, we don't do anything to stop it because it's not a big enough problem. but it always is. 5 people decide they hate mexican restaurants, more than just the 5 people and a few restaurants will wind up feeling the effects. they might even start recruiting. the restaurants might try to be more pro-active because the cops aren't protecting them. irrational hate is the fastest way to escalate any situation.

Matt, is there a reason you quoted my post? It reads like you think I'm saying racist cops aren't a big deal because all cops aren't racist, and that's not at all what I was trying to suggest.

[mattx110]

Matt, is there a reason you quoted my post? It reads like you think I'm saying racist cops aren't a big deal because all cops aren't racist, and that's not at all what I was trying to suggest.

no, i was agreeing with you. i was saying that if we always think "well, the majority isn't so bad" then we ignore what you've seen and experienced.
it was a response, not a retort. sorry.

[hyzmarca]

History and every bank robbery movie ever made tells us that setting up a perimeter is the stupidest thing that police can do in the event of a bank robbery. Best case scenario is a hostage situation that may claim the lives of everyone in the bank. Worst case scenario is the North Hollywood Shootout.

They knew who the guy was and where he lived. They could have let him leave, went in to find out if the bank was actually being robbed, and if it had been robbed arrest him at their leisure at a time and place where it is 100% safe to do so.

It should be common sense that forcing a violent confrontation with someone who may be willing to use violence while there are innocent bystanders in the way is not the smartest thing to do. If he were a heavily-armed and head-to-toe armored North Hollywood Shootout type of bank robber then those cops would have been slaughtered and many civilians would have been put in danger. If he were a hostage taking sort of bank robber then there would have been a very long and drawn out hostage situation and some hostages probably would have been killed.

And the great thing about waiting for him to leave and see what happens is that they can determine that he isn't a bank robber with minimum effort and never even has to know that they were called.

[glue]

no, i was agreeing with you. i was saying that if we always think "well, the majority isn't so bad" then we ignore what you've seen and experienced.
it was a response, not a retort. sorry.


Gotcha. No worries.

[EmeraldCity]

History and every bank robbery movie ever made tells us that setting up a perimeter is the stupidest thing that police can do in the event of a bank robbery. Best case scenario is a hostage situation that may claim the lives of everyone in the bank. Worst case scenario is the North Hollywood Shootout.

They knew who the guy was and where he lived. They could have let him leave, went in to find out if the bank was actually being robbed, and if it had been robbed arrest him at their leisure at a time and place where it is 100% safe to do so.

It should be common sense that forcing a violent confrontation with someone who may be willing to use violence while there are innocent bystanders in the way is not the smartest thing to do. If he were a heavily-armed and head-to-toe armored North Hollywood Shootout type of bank robber then those cops would have been slaughtered and many civilians would have been put in danger. If he were a hostage taking sort of bank robber then there would have been a very long and drawn out hostage situation and some hostages probably would have been killed.

And the great thing about waiting for him to leave and see what happens is that they can determine that he isn't a bank robber with minimum effort and never even has to know that they were called.

For the most part I don't think the police really handled it wrong. Sure tere are better ways they could have handled it. But it really just comes down to the fact that some employees made the decision that this man (I still believe it was racial profiling..) for whatever reason was going to indeed, without a doubt, rob the bank. The police just acted on the bad information that they got. They didn't find out who he was until they setup shop and closed in on the car...