Officer Pulls Over An Unarmed Black Cyclist And Calls For Backup

A video going viral shows an unarmed Black man, Matthew McGee pulled over by the Darien police while he rode to work. The video further shows the police calling for backup after McGee handed his license to her upon request.

Matthew McGee posted a video on youtube of what seems to be an unnecessarily lengthy interrogation by the Darien police as he was riding his bike to his job at the Tokeneke County Club. This video has since gone viral and viewed by over 31,000 people amidst a nationwide tension following the recent killing of Black men by the police.

In the video, the officer gave her reason for stopping McGee to be that, there have been series of burglaries in the area and wanted to find out if he has witnessed anything like that. But after he answered her, the officer called for a backup and another cruiser could be seen approaching the scene.

An online petition has since come up, demanding an apology from the Darien Police to the Black man. Also, there has been a call for the police to take part in a racial sensitivity training.

Moreover, a statement from the First Selectmen, Jayme Stevenson indicates that the officer did nothing wrong and hence, the interaction was dexterous. She said, “The officers have spoken to many people in that neighborhood, including the gentleman on the bike, regarding what, if anything, they may have seen on the day of the burglary,” she also added that “If this gentleman rides his bike via this route each day to and from his job, he may have seen something. From what little can be seen of our officer’s interactions with the gentleman, the interactions were very professional.”

The situation is apparently not violent. Definitely, police officers have a right to question anyone but the officer obviously didn’t need any backup as the man was not resisting or insulting her in any way. She had no reason to feel threatened.

The man was hurrying to his job and the officer could have just asked for his ID and let him go without calling for a backup, making him wait for so long. The reason for this police behavior is racial profiling. They see Black people as suspects even if they had done nothing wrong; yet at the very point their innocence is proven, they still act based on their prejudice and not on facts or the law.

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