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A black man wrongfully arrested at a Virginia shopping mall because he matched the description of a credit card fraudster has described the experience as ‘dehumanizing’.
Jamar Mackey was handcuffed in front of his fiancee and their two children at Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach on Saturday, with the entire incident captured on camera.
Video of the arrest sparked outrage and quickly went viral, with many viewers accusing the arresting officers of racial profiling.
On Tuesday, Mackey spoke out about the event for the first time, concurring with that assertion.
‘We were sitting down, enjoying he holidays and having some lunch with my family,’ he told Good Morning America.
‘Next thing you know, I’m in handcuffs. No words, no explanation. How do you still racial profile a black man with dreads in 2020?’
Jamar Mackey was handcuffed in front of his fiancee and their two children at Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach on Saturday, with the entire incident captured on camera. He is pictured at right being interviewed on Good Morning America on Tuesday
‘It hurts me,’ Mackey continued. ‘What if they had shot me in front of my son, or tasered me in front of my son?’
The Virginia Beach Police Department says it was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ and have expressed regret about the incident.
‘A specific suspect description, including clothing and other factors was provided to our officers on Saturday. As a result, Mackie was subsequently approached and handcuffed.
‘We apologize for the discomfort,’ a police official stated on Monday.
Mackey has since hired an attorney, who says the wrongful arrest is evidence of a ‘systemic problem’ within the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Video of the arrest, first shared on Facebook over the weekend, has now been viewed tens of thousands of times.
The viral clips starts with Mackie sitting at a food court table, with a full meal spread out in front of him, at Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as he’s being handcuffed by a police officer.
A viral video (pictured) showing a police officer putting handcuffs onto a black man at a shopping mall, in a case of mistaken identity, has prompted a police investigation
TMZ reported that the officer put the handcuffs on the man without explaining what he was doing first.
Kiara can be heard asking what the police officers are doing, saying that the family just arrived at the mall and was eating, while also denying that they have a black truck, which the officer had asked about.
The man doesn’t struggle with police as he’s being escorted outside, but he does repeatedly ask ‘Are you serious right now?’ while also swearing and yelling at police and referencing Black Lives Matter.
After nearly three minutes, police realize that they don’t have the person they’re looking for and remove the handcuffs, while explaining that they were acting on a report that a black male with dreads, wearing all black, in the company of a boy wearing red, had been using stolen credit cards at the mall.
Once outside the shopping mall, police realized that they had taken the wrong man into custody and released him (pictured)
Police said they had been working off a description of a suspect accompanied by a boy wearing red. Police are seen speaking with a suspect (left) while the innocent man is shown with a boy in a red hoodie (right)
Kiara then swings the camera to the far side of the mall, where additional police are seen standing near a boy wearing a red top.
As the would-be arresting officer calmly explains what happened and apologizes for the mistaken identity, Kiara swings the camera around to show that she, too, is with a young boy in a red hooded sweatshirt who is now pushing her baby carriage.
While asking for the officers’ names, she notes that the situation was ‘so embarrassing’ and says that the police had stereotyped the man she was with.
The Virginia Beach Police Department said that it will be conducting an investigation into the incident.
‘Certainly, anyone would be upset about being detained for something they didn’t do,’ Virginia Beach Police Department Chief Paul Neudigate said in a statement Sunday.
‘While the video shows the officer stayed calm and respectful throughout the brief encounter, we must ensure the situation merits the response. We are gathering all the facts to evaluate the incident so we can address the concerns people have raised.’
