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Black Home Owner Speaks Out After Police Handcuff And Detain Him In His Underwear For Accidentally Tripping His Own Alarm
A Raleigh, North Carolina, resident, Kazeem Oyeneyin, has a history of tripping the security alarm in his home of five years, but the latest incident resulted in one of the most "humiliating experiences" of his life.
Oyeneyin, an African American club promoter, had a friend who spent the night and unknowingly activated the alarm on Saturday as he was leaving the house the next day.
Moments after disabling the alarm and going back to bed, Oyeneyin heard shouting from inside the house.
Unaware of who was in his house, he grabbed his gun for which he owns a concealed-carry permit before going downstairs.
The 31-year-old homeowner was only wearing his boxers when he suddenly found an officer standing in the open doorway and pointing a gun at him.
The surveillance footage taken around 12:30 p.m. from inside the foyer of Oyeneyin's home shows the Raleigh police officer shouting:
"Turn around and face away from me!"
Raleigh homeowner handcuffed, detained after home security false alarmyoutu.be
A confused Oyeneyin responded:
"Why, for what?!"
Typically, triggering false alarms results in possible fines after a homeowner provides verification with an ID, but Oyeneyin suspects he was in the line of fire because of the color of his skin.
Later, he reflected on his unnerving experience in an interview with ABC11.
"This was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life."
During the confrontation that took place on August 17, Oyeneyin had his cellphone on record mode and informed the officer he was carrying a firearm.
The officer screamed for him to drop the weapon.
He continued barking:
"Just turn around and put your hands behind your back and get down on your knees."
"I'm just trying to figure out who you are, all right, and whether you are supposed to be here or not."
Oyeneyin was terrified not knowing what was going to happen next.
He toldABC:
"I was counting the seconds because I thought he was going to kill me. He was shaking the gun. All he has to do is slip and hit that trigger and I'm dead."
Eventually, a sergeant and two other officers arrived. When Oyeneyin attempted to explain he was the homeowner, the sergeant ordered him to sit back down.
According to the video, the sergeant said:
"We're going to clear the house."
Oyeneyin claimed an officer escorted him to the police car about five houses down while handcuffed and still in his boxer shorts as neighbors watched.
Oyeneyin continued:
"While the cop was trying to put me in the car, I'm screaming, like 'Yo!' because I want my neighbors to come out and tell them that I live there."
But the neighbors proved they did not have his back.
"So, the neighbors are just looking through the windows and I'm just humiliated. Nobody wants to say nothing. Everybody's just looking."
Raleigh police issued a statement with Durham ABC station WTVD and explained they are looking into the incident.
"We have attempted to contact the homeowner several times over the past few days to discuss this incident with him."
People expressed their rage on social media.
There were a lot of suggestions as to how the officer could have handled this properly.
Apparently, the responding officer lacked common sense.
Being barefoot and practically naked were not big enough indications that Oyeneyin was a resident.
While he was in the backseat of the police car, Oyeneyin saw another sergeant arriving who recognized him. That sergeant removed the handcuffs and walked him back to his home.
He can be heard on the surveillance footage telling the other officers:
"Tell everybody they need to come on out. This is the homeowner."
Oyeneyin was relieved his six-month-old son wasn't home during the incident.
"My son was with his mother at the time, thank God."
Raleigh community advocate Kerwin Pittman, executive Director of RREPS (Recidivism Reduction Education Program Services) is calling for disciplinary action against the officer who acted out of line.
"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 is figuring out whether to seek legal advice or not.
After news outlets reported the incident, he said officers claiming to be from internal affairs invited him to file a formal complaint at the police station, but he declined the invitation out of fear.
"They've got me scared. I ain't going to lie to you. I don't know how to trust them."
For now, he is settling for spreading awareness.
"I just think people need to be aware of this. This ain't right."