The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Police investigate after white man allegedly pepper sprays Black men
STAMFORD — City police are investigating a weekend incident captured on a video in which a white male shouts at a group of young Black men in Cove Island Park, while calling police to report he is getting harassed.
Police also are investigating an allegation that the man sprayed pepper spray at the group. The video, versions of which have circulated via email and social media, does not show the man using pepper spray. But a still photo, posted to one of the younger men’s social media account and provided by their attorney, shows him appearing to do so.
“White lives matter too,” the white male shouts at one point on the video.
The group, all in their mid-20s, one of whom is a Bridgeport police officer, according to their attorney, met in the park to celebrate two members’ birthdays, according to the social media post.
The older white man in the video is shouting that they are not allowed to launch their boat in the park.
“What are you going to do to me?” he says, approaching one.
He then says into his phone: “I’m getting harassed by a bunch of Black men down here.”
Stamford Police Assistant Chief Thomas Wuennemann said the case has been sent to the department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation to determine what happened.
Police Tuesday would not identify the man involved, saying the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation. Wuennemann did confirm that the man called police Saturday.
The video, at just under two minutes, has been shared with police via email. A shortened version has been posted and reposted repeatedly on Instagram.
It was not clear Tuesday what occurred prior to the video, but in the clip the man is seen pacing next to his gray pickup truck yelling at the others.
“I’ve been down here my whole (expletive) life. I live here,” he says at one point, while walking up to one of the younger men.
“What are you going to do to me?” the man asks while holding a phone up to his ear.
“Keep it on camera,” he says, pointing to one who is capturing the scene on video.
“I’m being harassed by a bunch of Black men down here,” he says into the phone. A moment later, he continues: “Is this the Stamford Police Department? There are people trying to put a boat in the water that is illegal. I have a boat down here. I have a legal right to put my boat in the water. They do not.”
“How do you know that?” one of the younger men asks. “Who said we are putting the boat in the water? No one said that. We are hanging out.”
One of the men asks for his name and the white man replies, “My name is God.”
“A bunch of Black guys are harassing me,” he repeats. “Yes, harassing me. White lives matter too.”
Police responded to the scene at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“It was not brushed off,” Wuennemann said. “There is an investigation going on. Obviously there is more to the story.”
Wuennemen confirmed that there was an allegation of pepper spray used by the man during the confrontation, apparently after the filming of the incident stopped.
Attorney Darnell Crosland is representing the five men who were the target of the older man’s anger.
He called the incident “A case where a white (person) thought they should weaponize the police department ... At its heart it’s racist behavior of individuals exploiting a system built on racism.”
Crosland said he is sending a letter to newly appointed Stamford Police Chief Tim Shaw to demand that he release the police report and charge the white resident with assault.
The younger men had a motorboat hitched to a pickup truck parked in the lot, which was not backed up to the ramp. Crosland said the five had planned to launch their boat from West Beach, where anyone, provided they have a pass, can launch a motorboat.
Stamford Parks and Facilities Manager Kevin Murray said only people who rent slips at the Cove Island Marina are allowed to launch motor boats on the park’s launch ramp. Everyone else is restricted to launching canoes or kayaks.
Several attempts to reach the man shown in the video were unsuccessful Tuesday.