Disturbing Video Shows What ‘Shopping While Black’ Looks Like in a Police State
The taxpayers of Ft. Meyers, Florida will soon be held liable for two officers who attacked a man for doing nothing but shopping in a 7-Eleven
Fort Meyers, FL — Holley Delton Jones, 42, was shopping at a 7-Eleven last year when two police officers approached him for no reason and attacked him. Jones had done nothing wrong, the store employees even told the police this, yet he was attacked, tasered, and arrested. Now, nearly one year after the incident, the taxpayers will likely be the ones held accountable.
On April 15, 2018, Jones was shopping at the 7-Eleven when officers James Barlow and Chris Robles show up and begin questioning him for no reason. There had been no complaints against Jones and he had simply stopped at the gas station to purchase water and cigarettes.
When police approached Jones, he was at the register talking to the cashier—doing nothing wrong. Police claimed they were responding to a report of a disorderly intoxicated male at the gas station. But according to their own report, they made no reference to Jones being that person. In fact, the store employees told them several times that he had “done nothing.”
Police claimed in their report that when they tried to talk to him, Jones “quickly ran back towards the front entrance of the 7-Eleven opened the front door, and turned around in a defensive posture with a closed fist as if he was going to strike Officer.”
But this is not what happened and their own body cameras prove it.
In spite of the fact that the cashiers in the store were standing up for Jones, the officers continued to press him. When they asked him to step outside, Jones complies and walks over to the officer, asking why they want to talk to him.
Jones reaches out to shake the officer’s hand but the officer refuses, getting defensive and demands that Jones “don’t touch me!”
Jones again complies, but is clearly confused as to why the cop has all of the sudden turned from nice guy to “don’t touch me or something bad is going to happen.”
Even the cashier tells officer Robles that Jones didn’t try to touch him and it was just a hand shake. But the officer remains defensive, telling the cashier that “he touched me!”
Remember, Jones had not committed a crime and was merely trying to go about his business. He had the full support of the workers inside the private property he was occupying. And, police did not confirm that he was the person they allegedly received a complaint about. Despite all of these facts, police continued to press him.
Jones asks once more what he’s done wrong, to which Robles replies, “You’re real close to doing something wrong.”
Robles asks the 7-Eleven clerk, Natasha Brown, if she wants Jones out of the store and she says “he didn’t do nothing.”
When Barlow arrives to backup Robles, eventually Jones goes outside with the police, although he is fearful the entire time—for good reason.
As Jones walks out of the store, the cashier again says that he did not do anything wrong, to which Robles replies. “he touched me.” Moments later, all hell would break loose.
As police tell Jones to stand by the bumper of their car, he turns to walk back into the store. That’s when the officer pulls out his taser and shoots Jones with it.
Jones screams out in agony begging them to stop. He is then handcuffed without incident and arrested.
Jones was charged with disturbing the peace, resisting an officer without violence, heroin possession, and marijuana possession.
All of these charges were unsubstantiated and dropped.
Jones has since retained attorney Solomon Radner who said all his client was “guilty” of that day was “shopping while being black.”
“They had no legal reason to do what they did,” he said.
According to News Press, Radner said the officers violated Jones’ First and Fourth Amendment rights and that the officers involved had no reasonable suspicion before they detained and arrested him.
The suit also claims the officers acted in an intentionally malicious and reckless manner to detain and arrest Jones without a warrant or any lawful basis.
When asked why police approached Jones that day, Radner responded, “That’s a great question.”
Indeed, when you watch the video below, it becomes apparent that Jones had done nothing wrong prior to police approaching him.
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/taxpayers-shopping-while-black/