Conwell told Cleveland.com after the incident that he believed he was the victim of racial profiling and wondered what might have happened if he didn’t identify himself as a Cleveland City Councilman. (The officers told him he was free to go after he said who he was.)
“If I can’t walk through my own neighborhood, I’m sure they’re stopping my residents,” he said.
University President Barb Snyder apologized, and said that while the campus police had already been trained in “the tenets of community policing,” the university would provide additional education over the next few weeks.
Police Chief Jay Hodge, for his part, said police were reviewing the incident and would reinforce community policing best practices. He said that Conwell’s coat and hat matched the color descriptions (tan and blue, respectively) provided by the caller.
Conwell has been in D.C. this week with the National League of Cities, but he said he plans to meet with CWRU’s campus police chief Friday.
Just as troubling as the police stop — which involved multiple officers — was the call that led to it. The caller, who sounds like a female student, called dispatch because a man was standing on the corner and “mumbling.” (You can listen to the call here.)
“I don’t know if he was necessarily suspicious…” the caller said. “He was just on the street corner and I don’t think he’s necessarily a part of campus.”
Students shouldn’t be fearful of taking proactive measures if and when they feel threatened, but the caller never says that she felt unsafe or that she was pursued. In fact, it’s unclear to what extent the caller even interacted with the man. At first, she said the man was mumbling to himself. But when the dispatcher asked if he said anything to the caller, she said yes, “but I have no idea what it was. He was missing some teeth and I was just, like, not sure what he was saying.”
The possibilities are many: Perhaps he was a panhandler, as Cleveland.com surmised. Perhaps he was a mentally handicapped man talking to himself. Perhaps he really was Councilman Kevin Conwell, offering a friendly greeting that was misinterpreted or misheard. Perhaps he was a predator.
And while hammering community policing tenets into the campus police force is absolutely advisable, it also might not hurt to reinforce (or teach?) some basic sensitivity to the student population.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2018.
Like all good politicians, why not cash in on the opportunity to push an agenda. The police should be able to ask a question without being accused of a crime.
The student population doesnt need to have sensitivity if they feel indangered. A man in politics ought to be used to insensitivity. Politics is a dirty business and there are many nasty things this man will endure in his career. Also, just being a councilman doesnt mean youre not a crook. Criminals come in all professions.
Sorry, but it’s not racial profiling if the officer stopped a person who matched the description of a “not necessarily suspicious” person that someone felt compelled to contact the police about.
Had the police do nothing about the call and it was later learned that the “not necessarily suspicious” person harmed someone, the same people that are complaining about racial profiling by police would be complaining about police inaction.
everytime I read a paper or read news online I’m reading so much about racsiam how so many blacks are being stop or harassed by the men in blue sure they are many who are assholes instead of thinking you are being stop because of your color think about the real reasons why and that it is from what I see so many blacks are committing more crimes and doing more killing so of course they think all blacks is the same
“He was just on the street corner and I don’t think he’s necessarily a part of campus.”
What an elitist, entitiled little b-word. I’m white and geezerly and sometimes I mumble to myself out loud. I attend cultural events at Case but I’m not “part of campus” either. WTF does that even MEAN?
Some little twat or twit is gonna tweet to the campus cops that I don’t BELONG on a city street? And I’ll be stopped for walking while elderly and white? And they’ll ask me who I am and what am I doing there and am I all right or in need of help? Jeebus!
Heads-up, children…you CHOSE to go to school in Cleveland. CLEVELAND. It is what it is. If you can’t handle my town, transfer to Cornell or Ohio U. or some other school in some hick college town. Or else learn to deal with your paranoia and get over yourselves.
Maybe the guy was on the phone. Many people pass my house while babbling and yammering out loud. I used to think they were all nuts, but they’re just on the phone.
Most of the time, anyway.