A Southern California sheriff’s deputy responding to a call about a white man trespassing in a private residential community ended up arresting and abusing a Black resident of that property after the white man accused him of harassing him.
Earlier this month, the Black man, Gregory Whaling, received a $498,000 settlement over the unlawful arrest that was caught on the deputy’s body camera. And the Riverside County sheriff’s deputy, Robert Glaser, has been fired.
Glaser’s attorney, Michael Williams, said the only reason Whaling received such a large settlement was because he is Black.
“This was a big nothing,” Williams told the Orange County Register.
“The fact is, unfortunately he had a cane, unfortunately he was a Black man … it was not a beatdown. In this case, his mouth caused his problem.”
The attorney’s reference to Whaling’s “mouth” refers to the fact that the Black man was standing more than 25 feet from the deputy and the other man when he dared exercise his First Amendment right to defend himself from the harassment allegation by telling the white man, “You don’t live here.”
Recent Comments