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In solidarity with the nationwide anti-racism protests which have highlighted the systemic mistreatment of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) by police, Saturday Night Live alumni Jay Pharoah released a video of himself being wrongly and aggressively detained by the LAPD on April 26.
In the video, shared to Instagram, the comedian shows surveillance footage of four officers approaching him, guns drawn, as he takes a jog.
SNL's @JayPharoah explains how he was racially profiled, handcuffed and detained by LAPD while simply walking down the street. pic.twitter.com/JrqBttILHL
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 14, 2020
The officers then pin Pharoah to the ground and kneel on his neck, as an officer did with George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Pharoah comments:
"They put me in cuffs, the officer took his knee, put it on my neck. It wasn't as long as George Floyd, but I know how that feels."
Pharoah also notes that the encounter took place on April 26, a week before footage of Ahmaud Arbery's killing went viral and that he could have "easily been an Ahmaud Arbery or George Floyd."
.@JayPharoah speaks out on being profiled by the LAPD. The "Saturday Night Live" cast member said he was detained with a knee to the neck by police in Los Angeles recently and stopped while he was jogging. @Zohreen reports. https://t.co/KmeHT9u4QTpic.twitter.com/4wprijEogE
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 13, 2020
The comedian tells the officers that if they Google his name "you will see that you made a big mistake."
The police release him a moment later, telling Pharaoh he matched a suspect's description of a "black man in this area with gray sweatpants on and a gray shirt."
No black person is immune in America. Fame, a good job, nothing immunizes you. A friend sent me @JayPharoah's @TMZ clip recounting his experience with racial profiling and police violence, including a knee ... literally ... on his neck, like George Floyd. https://t.co/XJFsWJ3JnD
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) June 14, 2020
To conclude his video, Pharoah reenacted the officer kneeling on his neck, saying:
"We as a country can't breathe anymore. We are tired, we are sick and we are tired of it. I can't breathe."
That Jay Pharoah story reminds me why I was so livid about that viral tweet from that obnoxious White woman claiming cops would "leave you alone if you just follow the law."
— Haitian State of Mind (@MRoyer3) June 13, 2020
The Los Angeles Police Department is reportedly investigating the incident.
Jay Pharoah was jogging in LA when cops swarmed him, made him lay face down on the ground, spread eagle, and one cop put his knee on Pharoah's neck.
They said he "fit the description", which is something black people hear a lot.#saturdaymorning#AMJoypic.twitter.com/ZINywjqS6b
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) June 13, 2020
Twitter was infuriated by the way Pharoah was treated.
I have a real problem with the fact that all these headlines read “Jay Pharoah says." There's video. This isn't he said she said. It's watch the f'cking video! https://t.co/ngucbccRd0
— Twi - 💕 (@wishiwerebella) June 13, 2020
No one black is safe from white supremacy. It doesn't matter if you're famous or not. #JayPharoahhttps://t.co/rBLzWcm2Fa
— The Reparations Film (@FilmReparations) June 13, 2020
Keep speaking out @jaypharoah. The more that ignorant people hear the voices of those ignored, the more people will realize that there is something that cannot be ignored any longer. https://t.co/LRh7GOgrud
— Perry Sexton (@perrysextonmd) June 16, 2020
It's time for racial profiling and discrimination against minorities to end.
FBI and independent statistics for stops, searches, detainments, tickets, fines, arrests, prosecutions and penalties all show a distinct racial bias in policing and across the justice system.
Comedian @jaypharoah is revealing stunning surveillance video of a police officer kneeling on his neck, less than two months ago.
The former @nbcsnl star said four Los Angeles police officers ran toward him with their guns drawn.@vladduthiersCBS has more in #WhatToWatch. pic.twitter.com/v9WwlWthUF
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) June 16, 2020
What the hell is wrong with them??.? pic.twitter.com/9mG5L7Yiix
— #BlackLivesMatter. Westhollywood (@Westhollywood20) June 13, 2020
Protests continue all around the country to try and halt the continued systemic racism that's affecting BIPOC every day.