LINK Airbnb: police helicopter targets black guests after neighbor fears burglars | US news | The Guardian
I recently came down upon the starbucks arrests and the college tour arrests. In both cases, two non-white peoples were arrested for doing absolutely nothing illegal. I felt it was egregious and that the people doing the accusing should be held accountable.
Now we have another case that is being treated the same but I'm not sure is the same and a case where accuser anonymity is a good thing.
Taking color out of the equation for a movement, if I see a group of people I don't recognize entering the house of a person without the person I know live there there, what is the appropriate response? Clearly there are a million good reasons why those people are there: taking care of the plants, arriving early before the owner arrive, or as in this case, being legal guest as per a AirBnB arrangement.
But it is also the case that people I've never seen before entering a neighbors house without my neighbors present (and perhaps gone for a long time) is a cause for legitimate suspicion and a call to the police is not unwarranted.
This could have been racially motivated but there are other very likely possibilities that aren't being discussed as well.
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I think it depends on the situation. Would I have called 911 and requested emergency police assistance for a possible burglary in progress because 3 middle/upper class, middle aged African american were casually loading luggage into their Volvo station wagon parked directly in front of the house in broad daylight in the afternoon failed to wave at me? Hell no.
Would I have felt comfortable approaching these same 3 individuals given what transpired before the call? Hell yes.
I think you have to assess the situation. If I truly felt it was an emergency, I wouldn't hesitate to call. If it wasn't, I would consider approaching them, recording video and/or pics, attempt to contact the homeowner and then depending on the situation, called in on a non-emergency line to get advice or make a report...
AdorkableMe
Level 7
May 8, 2018
0
Wouldn't it have been better for the neighbour to speak to the visitors first, rather than call the police? That would be the normal procedure where I live.
CeliaVL
Level 7
May 8, 2018
2
Or contact the neighbor with their concerns?
Write down a license plate just in case?
If you have seen the videos, they aren't shady looking people at all...nicely dressed, nice vehicle, belongings in luggage, not in black plastic bags.
It's more irritating that somehow no officers knew what airbnb was and that they wouldn't believe the owner because she wasn't there in person.
@TheMiddleWay As a homeowner, I would have appreciated my neighbor contacting me directly...and as a homeowner, my neighbors have my contact information and we look out for one another. As a homeowner I also would have notified my neighbors that the residence would sometimes be occupied by others. Seeing 3 people who have occupied the residence for the last 2 days casually load their luggage into a car is not alarming nor an emergency.
@TheMiddleWay I think the difference is that I wouldn't see it as putting myself in danger to confront them. Just speaking to people who look as if they have been visiting doesn't seem to me to be a dangerous thing. I agree with the suggestions others have made though - best to let your neighbours know if you are doing Airbnb, and give them a contact number for when you are away.
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