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Massachusetts Man Follows And Interrogates Black Woman For Driving In Her Own Neighborhood
A Black woman in the Boston suburb of Groveland was stalked by a White man through her own neighborhood and then interrogated by him about what she was doing there.
Her simple answer? She was picking up a bag of dog food a neighbor offered on Facebook, which was sitting in her backseat.
Julia Santos posted a video of the incident to her Twitter account right after it happened, where it has since gone viral.
In the video, as Santos begins narrating the details of the situation, the White man pulls up alongside her.
He asked:
"Would you like a better picture?"
He then asks her what she was doing on the street where she picked up the dog food, Juniper Terrace.
When she tells him, he tells her he doesn't believe her. Santos explains she pulled over because he was following her and she doesn't feel safe.
To which the man replies:
"You don't feel safe? I don't feel safe with you driving around in my neighborhood."
When Santos questions him on why he doesn't feel safe, the man says simply:
"Too many people."
Santos is not convinced. She asks the man if he feels unsafe because she's Black and he claims not to know or care what color she is.
When she repeats that she is Black, the man replies:
"That's good, you're Black. Congratulations."
The man then continues arguing with Santos about the exact order of moves she made with her car.
He stops when another person is heard in the background saying:
"You don't even have Mass plates, what are you doing? I don't like the fact that this poor girl is being harassed!"
Speaking with The Boston GlobeGlobe, Santos, who is 21, explained she was not only in her own neighborhood but that she's lived in Groveland her entire life.
She also described how the encounter made her feel.
"I honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen. I am so relieved my neighbor was there and I have no idea what could've happened to me if she wasn't."
"I just think especially in this racial climate, some people are walking on egg shells. Meanwhile, some people ... have just gone full racist mode."
On social media, people were disturbed by the incident.
And several echoed Santos' praise for the neighbor who intervened.
Santos also tweeted that the man had been identified on Facebook.
Speaking to the Globe, Groveland Police Chief Jeffrey Gillen said he was "deeply disturbed" by the video. Groveland Police have spoken with the man and a criminal investigation has been opened.