TX - Austin man stopped twice, 'roughed & cuffed' for "babysitting while white"

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wfgodot

wfgodot

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'Babysitting while white?' Meet the white grandfather who was detained
and HANDCUFFED for walking home with his black granddaughter... TWICE (Daily Mail)
Scott Henson is a self-described Texas redneck, white and middle-aged. His granddaughter Ty -- the five-year-old daughter of his goddaughter -- is black and Mr Henson often finds himself babysitting her.

And that pairing has apparently drawn the suspicion of police in Mr Henson's hometown of Austin, Texas. Twice in three years, he has been swarmed by officers and questioned aggressively -- for no other reason than being a white man walking down the sidewalk with a little black girl, he says.
---
In each encounter, Mr Henson said he was terse with officers and reluctant to give information because he was insulted that he was being stopped and questioned for being with a little girl of a different race. He maintains he had no obligation to cooperate.

But he says the subsequent police response was rude, incompetent and terrifying to his young granddaughter.
---
'I'd like her to view police as people she can trust instead of threats to her and her family, but it's possible I live in the wrong neighborhood for that.,' he wrote.
---
Click to expand...
more, with pictures, at link above

Links to Mr. Henson's blog entries about each incident:

Is "Babysitting While White" reasonable suspicion for police questioning? (06 November 2008)

Me, APD, and 'Babysitting While White,' Part Deux (11 February 2012)
 
Oh my. I wonder if records exist to determine if a call was really made about a white man kidnapping a black child. Or if this mans neighbors and community are that ignorant and making complaints due to the childs race.

What a horrible example of LE in front of this child.
 
Being terse and reluctant to answer questions is what led to this.

IMO, that's not a very good example for the little girl to witness either.
 
But, then again, I'm very glad to know that people are keeping and eye out and contacting police if they are concerned that the little girl is in danger. Better that he be insulted than have a young girl abducted under people's noses with no one saying a word.
 
I'd be terse and reluctant myself. maybe not the first time, but by the second time...they wouldn't get a word out of me except the date of the first time this was cleared up and my name, as well as the child's name.
 
Ada said:
But, then again, I'm very glad to know that people are keeping and eye out and contacting police if they are concerned that the little girl is in danger. Better that he be insulted than have a young girl abducted under people's noses with no one saying a word.
Click to expand...

What makes them concerned that the little girl is in danger except the fact that grandpa and the child are of different races?
 
alwaysonmymind said:
Being terse and reluctant to answer questions is what led to this.

IMO, that's not a very good example for the little girl to witness either.
Click to expand...
"Being terse and reluctant to answer questions" has nothing to do with the fact that the police stopped and interrogated the guy. That occurred after he was stopped and interrogated for no real reason.
 
not_my_kids said:
I'd be terse and reluctant myself. maybe not the first time, but by the second time...they wouldn't get a word out of me except the date of the first time this was cleared up and my name, as well as the child's name.
Click to expand...


I have to agree with this. Not the first time, but definately subsequent times.
 
It sounds like, to me, he walks with her quite a lot. Wouldn't folks in the neighborhood get used to seeing them together? Sadly, my suspicion is that it offends some prevailing sensibility that he's upsetting-- and we all know what that might be.

I do wonder, because of his blog, if he goes walking with her in areas that might react this way? As if he's walking in a peaceful protest all the time? If so, shame on him for setting her up to be treated like that. We all know ignorance exists at all levels (rich, poor, lawmen, etc.), he could use another avenue of revealing it if that's his intent.

If I were that child's mother, I would say: Enough with the strolling around, already. Take a car! You're scaring and scarring her. At least limit the walks to areas where that kind of response wouldn't happen. moo
 
Quiche said:
It sounds like, to me, he walks with her quite a lot. Wouldn't folks in the neighborhood get used to seeing them together? Sadly, my suspicion is that it offends some prevailing sensibility that he's upsetting-- and we all know what that might be.

I do wonder, because of his blog, if he goes walking with her in areas that might react this way? As if he's walking in a peaceful protest all the time? If so, shame on him for setting her up to be treated like that. We all know ignorance exists at all levels (rich, poor, lawmen, etc.), he could use another avenue of revealing it if that's his intent.

If I were that child's mother, I would say: Enough with the strolling around, already. Take a car! You're scaring and scarring her. At least limit the walks to areas where that kind of response wouldn't happen. moo
Click to expand...

BBM.

The area that he's walking in is a very diverse community, historically low income but experiencing some renewal in recent years. There is no reason to think that this would be an area more likely to be suspect, quite the opposite, in fact. Just FYI. :)
 
wfgodot said:
"Being terse and reluctant to answer questions" has nothing to do with the fact that the police stopped and interrogated the guy. That occurred after he was stopped and interrogated for no real reason.
Click to expand...

I have to look at this from another perspective. If a white man kidnapped his granddaughter, walked her down the street and no one called LE, no LE stopped the guy to question him.... would this grandfather complain?

Neighborhood people saw an anomaly. An older white man and a little African American girl. They stood out. Many are keying into the fact that they are different races. But what I am keying into is that it is unusual for an older man to be walking around alone with a little girl. Yeah it happens, but it is unusual. You frequently see older women and little kids, but not usually older men. Then you add the difference in race and that ramps up the suspicion.

No one accosted/accosted/threatened/harmed him, they just wanted him questioned to see if it was legit. If I see something out of the ordinary between an adult and a child on the street, should I just assume that it is legit and ignore it?
 
I could agree with the idea that maybe it is a good thing about people being observant, and to a certain extent I think it is. My problem isn't with the people that called. My problem is "Detained" and "Handcuffed". At this point, you are no longer having a friendly chat or an intellectual conversation. The police cannot detain you for no reason. They have to have a reasonable suspicion, visible evidence or a fear for their own safety, in order to detain a citizen. So, at this point, because he is doing nothing more than walking down a public street with a child, he is being told that he is a danger, a threat, or a visible criminal. I would be pretty terse by that time too.

if the police stopped me and talked to me like a rational person, and gave me reasonable treatment under the circumstances, I would likely be a lot more enjoyable to speak to. But, that's not what they did.
 
The 'stop and identify' statute allows LE to stop someone and question them. Refusing to give LE your name if this happens is usually a sign that a person is wanted for some reason or another.

He refused to give his name.

LE didn't just roll up on him and cuff him for no reason.

Moo
 
The LE on the street often has only their observations to go when on the street. Grandpa admitted to being terse and reluctant to give info. That likely made LE suspicious and wanting to keep him around and find out more before they released him.
 
mysteriew said:
The LE on the street often has only their observations to go when on the street. Grandpa admitted to being terse and reluctant to give info. That likely made LE suspicious and wanting to keep him around and find out more before they released him.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Refusing to give his name when asked by LE = huge red flag.
 
alwaysonmymind said:
Agreed. Refusing to give his name when asked by LE = huge red flag.
Click to expand...

That didn't happen. He didn't refuse to give his name. He is very clear on his blog that he gave them his name and address.
 
mysteriew said:
I have to look at this from another perspective. If a white man kidnapped his granddaughter, walked her down the street and no one called LE, no LE stopped the guy to question him.... would this grandfather complain?

Neighborhood people saw an anomaly. An older white man and a little African American girl. They stood out. Many are keying into the fact that they are different races. But what I am keying into is that it is unusual for an older man to be walking around alone with a little girl. Yeah it happens, but it is unusual. You frequently see older women and little kids, but not usually older men. Then you add the difference in race and that ramps up the suspicion.

No one accosted/accosted/threatened/harmed him, they just wanted him questioned to see if it was legit. If I see something out of the ordinary between an adult and a child on the street, should I just assume that it is legit and ignore it?
Click to expand...

So should one call the police every time one sees an older man walking with a child? Or only if the two of them are different races? I really don't understand what is suspicious about the older man walking with a child, and if the child was white, I am pretty sure no one would consider it "out of the ordinary."
 
jjenny said:
That didn't happen. He didn't refuse to give his name. He is very clear on his blog that he gave them his name and address.
Click to expand...

Yes, it did happen. He would not give the 1st officer his name and that is why more LE arrived and he was cuffed.

~snip~

Then she pulled out her pad and paper and asked "Can I get your name, sir, just for my report?" I told her I'd prefer not to answer any questions and would like to leave, if we were free to go, so I could get the child to bed. She looked skeptical but nodded and Ty and I turned tail and walked toward home.

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2012/02/me-apd-and-babysitting-while-white-part.html

From another blog~

But if he’d given his name that probably would have ended it, and the police over reaction would never have happened. Harrowing though this incident was – for his granddaughter in particular – this was an all’s well that ends well incident, in the grand scheme of things.

Scott Henson didn’t do anything wrong, but when he refused to give his name he invited further inquiry and that’s what he got.

http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/

Scott is a journalist turned political consultant, criminal justice reform activist, and is involved with the Texas chapter of the ACLU. He knows what happens if you refuse to give your name to the police. Any emotional harm Ty suffered from seeing him cuffed is a result of his refusal to give his name so LE could do their job.
 
jjenny said:
So should one call the police every time one sees an older man walking with a child? Or only if the two of them are different races? I really don't understand what is suspicious about the older man walking with a child, and if the child was white, I am pretty sure no one would consider it "out of the ordinary."
Click to expand...

I don't know that I would call the cops. That would depend on what I saw from the kid. But yeah, I would notice. You just don't see an older man alone with a little girl too often in my area. It would stand out. And I have enough websleuthitis that it would stand out.

What was the kid doing before LE came along? Was there suspicious clues in her actions? Was she chattering happily? Or dragginAg her feet and acting reluctant? Was there something else besides age or race that made the caller make the call? Unless they tell what the caller said, we really aren't going to know what the caller saw that made him/her suspicious. Was it the different race, the age or something else? Are we jumping to conclusions by assuming it was prompted by race?
 
mysteriew said:
I don't know that I would call the cops. That would depend on what I saw from the kid. But yeah, I would notice. You just don't see an older man alone with a little girl too often in my area. It would stand out. And I have enough websleuthitis that it would stand out.

What was the kid doing before LE came along? Was there suspicious clues in her actions? Was she chattering happily? Or dragginAg her feet and acting reluctant? Was there something else besides age or race that made the caller make the call? Unless they tell what the caller said, we really aren't going to know what the caller saw that made him/her suspicious. Was it the different race, the age or something else? Are we jumping to conclusions by assuming it was prompted by race?
Click to expand...

I don't know why an older man with a child would stand out. When I was a child my grandfather would frequently take me to the park, etc. Should that have stood out somehow?
 
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