Residents of St. Paul, Minnesota, have expressed disgust at both a police officer and a civilian for seemingly mutually harassing each other. It appears that the officer was trying to blow things out of proportion upon catching the man with a cigarette in a public area. Similarly, the man escalated the verbal altercation when the cop wouldn’t let the situation go.
While some Minnesota counties do allow smoking cigarettes outdoors, there are areas that strictly forbid the action. It appears the civilian in the video was smoking at a location that didn’t allow it, so the officer warned him to put out the cigarette. It’s important to note that he complied immediately. However, she then accused him of loitering, despite the man’s explanations that he was waiting for his laundry.
Clearly, well-informed, the man explained to the officer that the fact that he was waiting for his laundry means he does not meet the legal definition of loitering. Unfortunately, things had already escalated significantly at that point, as each person seemed determined to put the other in their place.
While the cop tried desperately to find something to catch the civilian on, he did not appear to break any laws, according to the video. Refusing to show a cop ID when asked is illegal in some areas, but not in Minnesota (unless the officer can clearly point to a potential crime being committed), so the man seems to have his legal bases covered.
Due to the lack of clear illegal behavior on the civilian’s part, many people who have watched the clip expressed horror at the officer’s handling of the situation. One person wrote, “She is wrong, she knows she’s wrong, but she refuses to just walk away to deescalate.” Another echoed, “I’ve seen enough; this is nothing but harassment by law enforcement.“
Others praised the man’s behavior. Comments such as, “This is how abuse of power should be handled,” and, “Man, he tried to be cool,” surround the clip. Many people noted the races of both the civilian and the police officer, wondering if that contributed to the situation. As one person expressed, “This man is clearly guilty of doing laundry while black.“
Sadly, it seems the situation could have been a quick, calm interaction, but things got wildly out of hand. One Redditor put it perfectly: “After he put the cigarette out, that should have been the end of the interaction.” There truly was no need for anything that occurred after that.
