A videotaped encounter between an Oakland deputy and a black man in Pontiac on Thanksgiving day is causing a social media stir.
The sheriff's department defends the brief encounter as a routine response to a call, George Hunter writes in The Detroit News.
The incident began after a business owner called 911 to report that a black man was acting suspiciously.
A sheriff's deputy approaches the man, now identified as Brandon McKean, and says a call came in about a man walking with his hands in his pocket. McKean begins videotaping the encounter, and deputy pulls out his phone and does the same. McKean posted the video that day on his Facebook page, where it has been shared more than 65,800 times, and then on YouTube. It lasts just over a minute and has been seen more than 225,000 times on YouTube,
Related commentary: Curb Your Outrage Over The Viral Pontiac Deputy Video
The man expresses anger over being stopped.
Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said Sunday that the deputy acted properly, and took exception to bloggers and social media commenters who he said took the video out of context, and didn't bother checking to get the rest of the story.
"The store that called about the man has been robbed multiple times in the last year," McCabe said. "In addition, employees have been robbed while making deliveries. According to the caller, this man was walking back and forth in front of the store five or six times.
"The deputy did a decent job," McCabe said. "He pulled his cell phone out and videotaped it after the man pulled out his cell phone, just to make sure the whole thing was documented."
Motor City Muckraker reports than McKean is 25.
The holiday exchange goes like this:
"You're making people nervous," the deputy said.
"By walking by?" answered the man.
"Yeah, they said you had your hands in your pockets," the deputy said.
"Wow, walking by with your hands in your pockets makes people nervous to call the police when it's snowing outside?" the man said.
Mclean didn't respond Sunday to Hunter's request for comment. On Facebook, Mckean posted a new image of himself with this caption: Hands still in my pocket.
On the video, his annoyance is clear -- although the deputy doesn't frisk him or ask for an ID.
"Is it an inconvenience to talk to me right now?" the deputy asks.
"Hell, yeah," the man answered. "Just because of the whole police situation going on across the country, this is outrageous . . . .there's 10,000 people in Pontiac right now with their hands in their pockets."
"You're right," the officer said. "We've just had a lot of robberies. I'm just checking on you. If you're fine, we're good."
"I'm being very respectable; you're being very respectable," the man said.
The deputy then suggests a high-five hand slap.
