Getting the day off because he was such an excellent student, Xzavier Brandon leisurely strolled to football practice through his neighborhood.
Apparently he was profiled as "suspicious" (where have we heard that before?) and was restrained first by the barrel of a gun in the hands of over reactive police and then handcuffed on the ground.
He was embarrassed because he was left beside a busy road looking as if he was a violent felon. When all he was doing was walking while black.
He deserves an apology. And these officers need to be retrained to understand the concept of escalation.
“There’s someone walking down the street who might have something to do with this,” he told the Columbus police dispatcher. “It may just be a coincidence that he’s just walking by, but it sure looks suspicious to me.” He told the dispatcher he would follow the youth in his car.
Brandon remembered that he had said hello to a man he didn’t know as he passed, but he kept walking toward Thompson Road. He had headphones on while listening to his iPod, he said, and it wasn’t until he heard a loud shout, turned around and saw a gun in his face that he realized something was wrong. Officer Leonard Milner told the teen to drop to the ground and then handcuffed him and asked if he had any jewelry in his backpack. Brandon said he didn’t.
As he was on the ground at the side of busy Thompson Road, he tried to turn his face so he wouldn’t be recognized, he said. Brandon, who will be a junior at New Albany in the fall, said he’s active in football, school and volunteering.
Of course the police have decided to investigate themselves. I wonder what the result will be?
Contact the city and police and inform them the need to apologize to this outstanding young man.
The area code for the Columbus Police Department is (614)All Numbers Listed Below Are Prefixed By "614-645-"
Unless Otherwise Noted
Office of the Chief
Chief of Police Kimberley Jacobs.........4600
Legal Advisor’s Office...................................4530
Legal Advisor.................................................. 4523
Public Information Unit..................................4593
INTERNAL AFFAIRS BUREAU...........4745
Commander....................................................4885
Citizen Complaints.........................................4880
Contact the city too:
Call Center hours:
Monday - Friday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed
Phone Number:
(614)645-3111
Sorry the article confused me as to the correct location. The Sargent speaking for the force is in the Columbus police department.