Woman Calls Police On Black Man For Looking At Her 'Suspiciously'

ROYAL OAK, MI — "Okay, well, she was looking at me too," Devin Myers said to police in a video posted on Facebook after they stopped him for "looking suspiciously" at a white woman in a car, the video depicts. Myers said he didn't interact with the woman at all, he told Patch, and even apologized to the police for the time they wasted on responding.

In the video, two Royal Oak police officers are seen standing next to Myers, who is calmly standing with his arms crossed outside the Inn Season Cafe where he was about to meet a friend to eat. The person who took the video, Kimiko Adolph, doesn't know Myers, but says she was going to a CVS when she came across the scene.

Myers told Patch he was scared, but remained calm on the exterior because he didn't want the officer to hurt him.

A press release from the Royal Oak Police Department, in full at the bottom of the article, says the officer who stopped Myers was probationary and made a mistake. It starts off with an apology.

"What should have been a very short encounter was extended when the officer involved insisted on getting Mr. Myers’ identification. The officer had no legal right to demand the identification and should have simply advised Mr. Myers why we were there and allowed him to go on his way," the release says.

The owner of the restaurant was there defending Myers, who said he was 20 when Adolph asked.

Myers had requested police call their supervisor. A police sergeant arrives and asks rhetorically "if someone calls about something, we're not supposed to respond?"

"You are, but not the way you are ... you pull up and you see I'm not a threat to her, I'm not even close to her," Myers responds.

The woman who Adolph, Myers and the restaurant owner said called the police was sitting in a car across the street.

According to police, "the caller reported she was uncomfortable because a male subject was circling her vehicle, staring at her from across the street, and was possibly taking pictures of her and her son."

Soon after, police tell Myers he is free to go. Adolph says in the video it was about 25 minutes after he was stopped. Police later said it was 19 minutes.

Myers goes into the restaurant and eats. As he was inside, his mother arrived. She, the owner and Adolph remained to "defend" Myers, he told Patch.

"If that were me walking across the street and walking in, this would not be happening... [Myers] was actually just trying to park his car," when the woman called police, the cafe's owner, a white woman, says in the video.

Myers said it felt like he had an "angel" on his side in the restaurant owner. "She refused to leave my side, I'm so thankful for a white lady to stand there by my side," he told Patch.

The sergeant defended the officers' actions, saying that without asking questions of the people supposedly involved in an incident, they have no idea what happened.

"How do we know that until we talk to anybody?" the police sergeant responded. "Are we supposed to have all these facts before talking to people?"

The sergeant, however, was disciplined for how he handled the situation, the release said. He "did quickly advise Mr. Myers that he was free to go; however, he did not effectively look into the situation or allow those present the opportunity to express their concerns."

One thing the police sergeant, the restaurant owner and Adolph agreed on was that the situation was "nonsense."

Patch has reached out to Adolph, who filmed the video below, for comment.

Royal Oak Police Department release:

The Royal Oak Police Department has completed our internal investigation into the August 13 incident involving an African American man and the Royal Oak police.

On behalf of the police department, I would like to apologize to Mr. Myers for how he was treated. What should have been a very short encounter was extended when the officer involved insisted on getting Mr. Myers’ identification. The officer had no legal right to demand the identification and should have simply advised Mr. Myers why we were there and allowed him to go on his way. The officer involved is a new, probationary officer and he made a mistake. This officer will be provided with remedial training to address this issue.

Early in this encounter, Mr. Myers requested a supervisor make the scene. Although the first officer did not call for a supervisor, the second officer on scene did.

The responding supervisor did not handle this situation in a manner I expect Royal Oak supervisors to conduct themselves. He did quickly advise Mr. Myers that he was free to go; however, he did not effectively look into the situation or allow those present the opportunity to express their concerns.

This is not the practice of the Royal Oak Police Department and it is not acceptable. The supervisor has been disciplined and every Royal Oak police supervisor has received additional training in procedural justice.

This incident stemmed from a 911 call in which the caller reported she was uncomfortable because a male subject was circling her vehicle, staring at her from across the street, and was possibly taking pictures of her and her son. In total, Mr. Myers was verbally detained for approximately 19 minutes. A supervisor was called to the scene, per Mr. Myers request, about 6 minutes into the encounter and the supervisor arrived approximately 11 minutes later (17 minutes into the encounter). Mr. Myers was advised he was free to go 2 minutes after that.

This is an unfortunate incident where the ROPD did not live up to our own standards. Corrective action has been taken and we will continue to hold all members of the ROPD to the highest standards.