Police Defend Cuffing Black Realtor, Client At Michigan Home

MICHIGAN — Police in Wyoming, Michigan said race was not a factor when a Black real estate agent, his client and the client's son were handcuffed recently while viewing the inside of a house for sale.

"Our officers responded appropriately. While it is unfortunate that innocent individuals were placed in handcuffs, our officers responded reasonably and according to department policy based on the information available to them at the time," the Wyoming Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

According to Wyoming police, officers responded to a 911 call from a neighbor reporting a break-in at the home on Sunday, Aug. 1. That particular house had been broken into a few days prior, they said.

Meanwhile, real estate agent, Eric Brown, is not buying the department's response to the incident. On the day the encounter took place, Brown said he was showing a house on Sharon Avenue SW to a man and his 15-year-old son. He told WOOD-TV that how officers handled the situation was aggressive.

“I feel pretty anxious, or nervous or maybe even a little bit scared about what do I do to protect myself if I’m going to show a home and the authorities just get called on a whim like that,” Brown said. “Am I just automatically the criminal? Because that’s pretty much how we were treated in that situation.”

Roy Thorne, Brown's client, called the experience in the Grand Rapids suburb “traumatizing” for him and his son.

The department released body camera footage that shows officers handcuffing them. One officer had his weapon out and pointed it at Thorne as he left the home in response to police commands.

Thorne said that officer apologized, “but at the same time, the damage is done.”

“My son was a little disturbed, he hasn’t seen anything like that … he’s not going to forget this," he said.

The footage also shows police put Thorne in the backseat of a squad car with the door open after handcuffing him.

“Definitely not buying this place,” Thorne says on the video, after explaining that he was visiting the home with his real estate agent.

Brown used his cellphone to show police that he scheduled an appointment online to take Thorne to the house and had an access code to get inside. Thorne's son was put in the backseat of another squad car briefly before the officer accompanying him was told to uncuff the teenager.

After about 20 minutes in handcuffs, Brown and Thorne were also uncuffed after it was clear to police that the real estate showing was legit and not a break-in as described in the initial complaint.

"An officer apologized to Mr. Brown for the inconvenience, and Mr. Brown replied, 'You gotta do what you gotta do,'" the police department said. "An officer thanked Mr. Brown for his understanding. Mr. Brown said he understood the neighbor’s concern, given the fact the house had previously been broken into. The officer informed Mr. Brown the individual who had been arrested a few days prior had arrived in a Mercedes sedan. Mr. Brown said his car definitely looks like a Mercedes."

Another Black man with a similar car to the real estate agent's vehicle was arrested after he went into the house without permission July 24, police said. That person also told police that he was interested in purchasing the house but was not with a real estate agent and didn’t have the homeowner’s permission to go inside.

A neighbor saw Brown's car parked in front of the house on Aug. 1 and called police, wrongly reporting that the intruder had returned, the statement said. Brown's car is the same color as that first person's but a different make and model.

“Somebody dropped the ball somewhere,” one of the officers can be heard saying to another after Brown and Thorne explained why they were at the house.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.