This shit has got to stop already. There are times when calling the police is appropriate, but seeing a 43-year old black woman going door-to-door politely speaking to your neighbors IS NOT ONE OF THEM.
Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat who is running for a second term this fall in the [Oregon] state House of Representatives, said she was knocking on doors and talking to residents for two hours along Southeast 125th Avenue in Clackamas. She was taking notes on her cellphone from the conversation she'd had with someone at the second to last of about 30 homes on her list around 5:10 p.m. when a Clackamas County deputy pulled up to her.
She looked over at the deputy in his patrol car and thought, "I don't believe this." He asked if she was selling something. She introduced herself as a state legislator and said that she was out canvassing and that she guessed someone called him.
The deputy said someone called and reported Bynum appearing to spend a long time at houses in the area and appearing to be casing the neighborhood while on her phone.
"Casing" the neighborhood by knocking on doors and having extended conversations with the homeowners, carrying only a phone, a pen, and some leaflets. Bynum appears to have, sadly, taken it in stride. "It was just bizarre," she told and Oregonian reporter. "It boils down to people not knowing their neighbors and people having a sense of fear in their neighborhoods, which is kind of my job to help eradicate. But at the end of the day, it's important for people to feel like they can talk to each other to help minimize misunderstandings." Indeed. Had the woman who called the cops—it was a woman—simply engaged with Bynum, problem solved.
We don't know that the caller was white, but it's a pretty safe bet. The deputy who responded to the call appeared to be apologetic and professional and even took a selfie with Bynum. She said she talked to him about the fact that "when people do things like this, it can be dangerous for people like me," and he said he hoped his presence didn't maker her feel that she was in danger. So there's that. The deputy also connected the women by phone, because the caller told him she wasn't at home. She apologized to Bynum, who says she hope to meet her in person in the future.
And she has a word for all her constituents, who she intends to see in their neighborhoods as she continues her campaign: "I hope everyone gets a good look at my face, because I'm coming to your door."