SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA — When Faye Wells got locked out of her house and called a locksmith on September 6, 19 police officers responded to the 911 call about a possible break-in.
A white neighbor saw Wells, who is black, and a locksmith opening the door. He misidentified them as Hispanic and thought they were breaking in. Wells was so upset about how the police handled the situation that she wrote an account of the night that was published in the Washington Post entitled "My white neighbor thought I was breaking into my own apartment. Nineteen cops showed up." I
Wells wrote that she heard barking and a man's voice outside her apartment. She opened the door and a police dog barked at her so she closed it. She then peered out the window to see a man with a gun, who told her to "Come outside with your hands up." She complied and saw a throng of officers outside, two of them were pointing guns at her. She asked them repeatedly what was going on, but they raided her house and detained her in the street. She told them she had lived there for seven months and that she had a receipt for the locksmith. She demanded identification from all of the police officers, but only a few of them complied.
The neighbor who called 911 also came out to see what was going on, and when Wells tried to tell him how devastated she was, he asked her if she knew her next-door neighbor. When she replied that she did and tried to ask him more questions, he responded by saying, "I'm an attorney so you can go eff yourself."
Police eventually sent her a list of officers who responded that night. After Wells' article was published by the Washington Post, Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline A. Seabrooks released a statement saying in part: "I hope we can all to be more thoughtful before we rush to condemn the actions of a group of police officers who were doing their best to keep our community safe."
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