So this happened.
An African-American firefighter who traveled to an Oakland firehouse to shut a door that was left open was detained by white police officers while his sons, age 9 and 12, looked on.
In the disturbing video above, you can hear the firefighter’s son crying in the background.
Keith Jones, the off-duty fireman, is now accusing the Oakland police department of racial profiling. The department, however, cleared the officer involved of any wrongdoing, saying the officer was “within policy” when he stopped Jones on Aug. 15.
The Oakland Police said that it shared the video because of “our commitment to transparency.”
Officer found Jones, because the Fire Department alerted the police department that the building might have been left unsecured, according to police statements. KPiX reports a fire crew forgot to lock up when they responded to an emergency call.
From the Huffington Post:
The video was recorded by a camera worn on the officer’s uniform and contains footage from the moment the officer encounters Jones and his 9- and 12-year-old sons at the entrance to the darkened station in East Oakland shortly before 11 p.m.
Put your hands up. Get your hands up!,” the officer says. “Turn around.”
Jones, 43, begins explaining that he is an Oakland fireman at another station and was there to shut a door that had been left open. No one else is in the building, according to Jones.
The officer apologizes after checking Jones’ identification.
After the incident, Jones told CBS San Francisco that he felt his life was in danger.
“I’m pretty much thinking he was going to shoot me,” Jones told the station. “If we were white, I truly believe he would not have approached my kids that way.”
Watch the video above.
SOURCE: HuffPost | VIDEO SOURCE: YouTube
