The Bone-headed Cop Move of the Decade

Well, in the running anyway. She Called 911 on Her White Boyfriend, the LAPD Arrested Her Black Neighbor Instead | Jasmyne A. Cannick

They got a 911 call about a guy violating a restraining order. They saw a random black guy, Antone Austin who lived on that street, and decided that he was the guy, based on nothing but their prejudice.

According to Faisal Gill, Antone’s attorney, other body camera footage shows the initial responding officers spotting Antone bringing in his trash can.

Mr. Gill explains, “One officer says, ‘Is it this dude,’ to which his partner responds, ‘Probably.’”

So tell me, what exactly was that "probably" based on, if not on race.

This is perhaps the definition of stupid cops steppinng up to the plate and hitting a home run. To arrest someone based only on race, on camera with audio to back it up.

One of them actually did a running tackle. Based on nothing. Though there is no video of that because his bodycam "fell off." Of course it did.

For an encore, they arrested Antone's girlfriend.

They realized pretty quickly that they were in deep yogurt, and the city went to work hiding the video. Because lawsuits are expensive.

Los Angeles City Attorney (and 2022 mayoral candidate) Mike Feuer is fighting the public release of the body camera footage. Because of this, the footage is currently under a judge’s protective order.

That changed this week. Video Shows LAPD Officer In Pursuit Of White Suspect Arresting Black Man Instead.

U.S. Magistrate Jacqueline Chooljian has forced the Los Angeles Police Department to release a startling video of two officers violently arresting music producer Antone Austin and his girlfriend Michelle Michlewicz after mistaking Austin for someone else, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“It is racial profiling. They had no description of the suspect — a completely blank slate. They literally saw the first Black man, and they arrested him,” lawyer Faisal Gill told The Los Angeles Times.

They can't even fall back on the "he fit the description" chestnut, because...

1. They didn't have a description, and
2. The guy the 911 call was about is 5'7" and white, and the guy they arrested is 6'5" and black.

There are more examples of unprofessional behavior at both the links above, but they really pale in comparison to the "arresting a guy based only on his race" screw-up.