Tend to agree.
We don't know the callers personal circumstances. Nutter. Racist. Just living alone and paranoid.
... Out-of-towner? One of the witnesses says that he's
"from around here." Unlike the Central Park Karen with the dog, she doesn't claim to be threatened or that the 'culprit' is any kind of threat. When reasons for his behavior are mentioned, substance abuse or mental illness, she says
"either one".
She mentions that he is African-American, but she doesn't mention that as her reason for wanting the police to interfere. Is there reason to assume that she wouldn't have made the call if she had seen an Anglo-Saxon, Latin American or Asian person dancing in the street?
There's one thing missing that I would have liked to see: footage of the man dancing! Let's face it: It
is unusual behaviour, but there is probably not a law against unusual behaviour. Does he actually dance
in the street and not on the sidewalk? Why? Can it be described as jaywalking? Is he in danger of being hit by a car? (If he were, I guess the witnesses from the neighborhood wouldn't be as relaxed about it as they are.)
The cops are supposed to be professionals and a large part of their jobs is supposed to be evaluating situations and threat or just innocent behaviour.
He does resist arrest. There is probably no category in the law for resisting totally uncalled for arrest, but he doesn't seem to be arrested for dancing in the street but for resisting arrest. Throwing him to the ground the way they do seems to be excessive use of force, however.
- - - -
OK, there actually
is footage of him 'dancing in the street'. I have seen the first video (4:39), and he is in the parking zone of the street, so he is not obstructing traffic or endangering himself. It does look a little weird, and I can see why the police stop and talk with him to find out what is going on. It escalates only when he tries to leave before they have finished questioning him.
I can see why he is upset about being questioned, but on the other hand, their way of addressing him and their questions are all very polite. They don't seem to address him differently from how (I imagine) they would have addressed somebody white.
In my opinion, the dancing man could have deescalated the situation by staying put and answering the questions when the police were doing their job of
"evaluating situations and threat or just innocent behaviour." On the other hand, after the George Floyd footage I can also see why he might me more upset about a confrontation with the police as a black man than if he had been white.
VIDEO: Alameda Police Release Body Cam Footage Of Black Man’s Arrest For Dancing In Street (CBS SF BayArea, June 6, 2020)
