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A black man was handcuffed and detained in his own home after the burglar alarm went off

2019-08-27T17:57:15.194Z


When a friend of Kazeem Oyeneyin accidentally activated his burglar alarm, the North Carolina man came down the stairs, turned it off and went back to sleep. Minutes later the police appeared ...


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Oyeneyin said the incident is another episode of the ignominy he has suffered as a successful black businessman.

(CNN) - When a friend of Kazeem Oyeneyin accidentally activated his burglar alarm, the North Carolina man went down the stairs, turned it off and went back to sleep.

Minutes later, Raleigh police appeared, handcuffed Oyeneyin and took him in his underwear while they searched his house.

"What wrong did I do?" Asked the owner of the house, black, as seen in the images of the security camera of his house on August 17. "I did not do anything wrong".

Raleigh police explained on Monday the agents' actions, saying that several clues led police to believe that a real robbery could have occurred.

But Oyeneyin, who is a concert promoter and owner of a nightclub known as Tim Boss, said the case illustrated is another example of how a predominantly white neighborhood is pointed to a black as a criminal.

"It's a stereotype that I don't want to deal with," Oyeneyin said.

What the security camera shows

In a video, Oyeneyin's burglar alarm sounds throughout the house.

Oyeneyin down the stairs, type a code to deactivate the alarm and go back up.

In an interview with CNN, Oyeneyin explained that the alarm went off because a friend had stayed at his house the night before and when he left the house he activated the alarm by accident.

Oyeneyin said he had had four false alarms before. But in the past, the police came to his house and asked for identification. The agent took note of the incident and left, according to Oyeneyin.

But this time it was not like that.

Security images show the first agent, who arrives by opening the open door without Oyeneyin insurance. "Police! (If) you are inside, identify yourself, ”shouts the policeman.

Oyeneyin responds from above, although his words do not listen well in the video.

The agent tells him to get down with his hands up. Quickly see that Oyeneyin has a gun in his hand.

Oyeneyin told CNN he wasn't sure who was down at the door of his house, so he grabbed his legal gun as a precaution. In the video, he announces that he has a gun.

The policeman tells Oyeneyin to leave the gun on the ground, and Oyeneyin does it immediately.

"Come here," says the officer, leaving outside the house.

"I'm in underpants," Oyeneyin replied, refusing to leave his lobby.

"Turn around. Put your hands behind your back, ”he replied.

"For what?" Oyeneyin replied in exasperation.

The homeowner and the agent maintain a tense exchange, and the policeman demands that Oyeneyin kneel and turn around with his hands behind his back.

Oyeneyin kneels, but refuses to turn his back on the officer. He later told CNN that he feared for his safety.

“I was afraid to turn around. I thought he was going to shoot me, ”Oyeneyin told CNN.

“I'm tired of the police pointing me with weapons. It has happened to me before, ”he told CNN. Do you want me to turn around and get on the other side where I can't see you? It was more a matter of security for me. ”

The policeman finally enters Oyeneyin's house and his wife. While they wait for a supervisor to arrive, the agent asks Oyeneyin if he lives in the house and has identification.

"Yes," Oyeneyin answered the two questions.

But the policeman doesn't ask Oyeneyin to show him his ID. On the contrary, the agent explains his actions, saying that the door was open, he made several announcements before Oyeneyin responded, and that Oyeneyin left the top floor with a gun.

"I'm just trying to figure out if you should be here or not, okay?" Said the policeman ..

"I'm in underpants, brother ... what do you mean by that if I'm supposed to be here?" Oyeneyin replied. "I just want to find out who you are and if you are supposed to be here or not," the officer said. But he doesn't ask Oyeneyin for identification.

Moments later, the police supervisor appears. The sergeant tells Oyeneyin that "he feels, because we are going to search the rest of the house."

More police appear. While Oyeneyin keeps asking questions, an agent says: "Get him in the car."

The policeman finally enters Oyeneyin's house and his wife. While they wait for a supervisor to arrive, the agent asks Oyeneyin if he lives in the house and has identification.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Oyeneyin replies, while being handcuffed.

Later in the video, one of the policemen brings Oyeneyin back to the house and tells the police that Oyeneyin is the owner and that there was no robbery. The cops leave.

What the police say

Raleigh police sent a statement to CNN on Monday explaining the actions of the first agent.

After receiving a report of a burglar alarm, the police officer "arrived in a matter of minutes and found the front door ajar."

"After several attempts to contact someone inside the residence, an unidentified man who was armed with a gun entered the officer's field of vision," Raleigh police spokeswoman Donna-Maria Harris said in the release.

"Although the resident stated that he turned off the alarm before the arrival of the Raleigh police, the alarm company never called to cancel the police response."

The police statement indicated that, although the resident said he lived in the house, “the agent had no way to confirm the validity of the declaration or register the residence in search of more people until other police arrived at the place .

"According to all available data that the officer knew at the time, the resident was arrested until more police arrived and his identity could be verified," the police added.

The owner of the house was detained for about seven minutes, according to police. The department said it is reviewing the case.

"This has been going on for too long."

Oyeneyin said the incident is another episode of the ignominy he has suffered as a successful black businessman.

"I was expelled from a house where I lived because the police accused me of being a member of a gang," he said.

"I had not disclosed this, thinking that this is the United States."

But now that he has a son, Oyeneyin thinks it's time to speak publicly.

"I want to raise awareness about what happens," he said. "This has been going on for too long and must stop."

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-08-27

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