fbpx

‘Most Humiliating Experience Of My Life:’ Raleigh Homeowner Handcuffed, Arrested After Home Security False Alarm

‘Most Humiliating Experience Of My Life:’ Raleigh Homeowner Handcuffed, Arrested After Home Security False Alarm

Kazeem Oyeneyin, a Raleigh businessman and homeowner, was handcuffed and arrested by police in his home after a home security system was accidentally tripped.

The homeowner filmed as much of the experience as he could with his cellphone. His home surveillance camera got more footage, which was posted to Facebook on Thursday.

Police didn’t believe he was the homeowner, Oyeneyin told ABC11. The 31-year old is a well-known concert promoter who goes by the name “Tim Boss.”

According to the surveillance footage, the police officer did not ask for Oyeneyin’s name or his identification until after he’d already handcuffed the homeowner.

This isn’t the first time Oyeneyin’s security system has gone off by mistake. If police show up, what usually happens is you show your ID to prove you’re the homeowner. There may be a fine and it’s done, he said.

This time, however, audio from a surveillance camera posted at Oyeneyin’s front door shows the Raleigh Police officer yelling, “Turn around and face away from me!” Oyeneyin responds, “Why, for what?!”

Oyeneyin said he suspects it was because of the color of his skin.

“This was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life,” Oyeneyin told ABC11 after the incident.

Police are facing increasing scrutiny and questions around the country about systemic racism and using deadly force against African Americans.

In 2018, Karle Robinson, a 61-year-old Marine veteran, was allegedly held at gunpoint and handcuffed while moving into his home in Tonganoxie, Kansas, Washington Post reported.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 02: Rodney Williams

Jamarlin talks to Rodney Williams, founder and CEO of Lisnr, about raising $10 million in venture capital, HBCU endowments that invest in black tech, and how to fire loyal employees you like.

A 40-year-old white officer in Boulder, Colo., drew his gun on 26-year-old Zayd Atkinson in March as he was picking up trash outside his home.

A white police deputy in Harris County, Tex., tried to arrest Houston resident Clarence Evans, 39, in his front yard in May, mistaking him for someone else.

“I was counting the seconds, because I thought he was going to kill me,” Oyeneyin told ABC News. “He was shaking the gun. All he has to do is slip and hit that trigger and I’m dead.”

Oyeneyin said a friend who spent the night accidentally tripped the alarm when he left. The homewoner says he disengaged the alarm and went back to sleep. Then he said he heard somebody screaming downstairs. “So I grab my firearm because I don’t know what’s going on. And I run down the stairs and it’s a cop.”

The officer also had a firearm drawn and yelled, “Drop the gun! Drop the gun.” Oyeneyin said he put his weapon on the floor. He has a concealed-carry permit.

The officer yelled for Oyeneyin to come out of the house. Oyeneyin responded, “What you mean come on out? I got on my drawers!”

Then the officer ordered him to put his hands behind his back and get on his knees.

At least four other Raleigh police officers arrived and took Oyeneyin in handcuffs, wearing just his underwear, to a police car.

A lot of stories like this go untold

“It’s a lot of stories like this that go untold,” Raleigh community advocate Kerwin Pittman told ABC News. Pittman is executive director of Recidivism Reduction Education Program Services. “There’s no reason this man should have been pulled out of his house, not asked for paper ID and it progressed that far. This man was criminalized, humiliated, stigmatized in his own home”

Oyeneyin said, “Being black could definitely be one the issues, the problem. I hope it’s not. But if that’s what it is, it needs to be resolved.”

Oyeneyin was later released and has not been charged with a crime.

https://twitter.com/CoachGravesGRBC/status/1165109724326629377?s=20