A video capturing a confrontation in Flowers Park on May 18, 2022, in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville has gone viral, featuring a white man who called the police over an altercation with a homeless Black man. The incident gained attention when the white man became emotional as the Black man was arrested.
According to the released video footage on May 31, Doraville police officers arrested the Black male on charges of simple assault and terroristic threats.
In the bodycam footage, the Black man can be heard explaining to the police that he was peacefully sitting in the park when the white man’s family started screaming at him without any provocation. He further claimed that the family’s children directed inappropriate insults towards him.
On the other hand, the white man stated that his family had gone to the playground and encountered the Black man, who seemed to be attempting to sleep on a park bench. He alleged that the Black man became agitated when the children playing disturbed his sleep and began threatening them with a knife. Consequently, the family called the police, and the officers responded promptly as the police department is located next to the park, as reported by Newsweek.
In the video, the white man can be heard expressing his desire for the Black man to leave them alone, questioning whether he would be arrested. He explains that he only called the police to resolve the situation peacefully and didn’t expect the arrest.
Concerned about the potential implications, the white man tearfully expresses, “He is going to think I’m doing this because I am white and he is Black or because he is homeless and I’m not. I don’t want that.”
The police officers ask the white man if the suspect brandished a knife and made threats, to which he reluctantly confirms, but emphasizes that his intention was simply to have the man leave them alone, regardless of his circumstances.
The Doraville Police Officers proceeded with the arrest, but the outcome and whether the Black man was convicted of any charges remain unknown.
