Police called on black business owner in Parkside parking lot; 'I wish she knew me'

From The Journal Times.com:

•                         Adam Rogan                         

Gus Harris, an immigrant from Liberia who now owns Flex and Burn Fitness Center, leads a class at his gym in Downtown Kenosha. He is an avid runner, but following an incident on May 17 when the police were called on him while he was in a parking lot after going for a run, he fears someone else may call police on him the next time he's running. Since May 17, he's started running with a GoPro video camera. SEAN KRAJACIC, LEE NEWSPAPERS  

SOMERS — While protests have taken place throughout the nation following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there have also been extensive discussions on concerns of people calling police on people who are black simply for being in a park or sitting in a car.

That is what happened to Gus Harris.

Harris, who owns Flex & Burn Fitness Center in Downtown Kenosha, went for a run just before noon in Petrifying Springs Park on Sunday, May 17. While leaving, he pulled into a University of Wisconsin-Parkside parking lot to talk to a friend over the phone.

Unbeknownst to Harris, a woman called Kenosha County Dispatch’s nonemergency number. She provided Harris’ license plate and said there was a “suspicious” person wearing a ski mask who was circling around cars, according to copies of the police report, 911 call and police body cam footage.

“He is wearing a full ski mask ... I have gotten my car broken into by a car circling,” she said, according to a recording of the call obtained via open records request.

While Harris was talking to the friend, a Parkside police officer drove up to talk to him. The officer immediately recognized Harris from Downtown Kenosha.

The officer addressed the situation directly but candidly, body camera footage shows. The officer said to Harris: “They see a big black man walking around, running around and you’re suspicious? … It ain’t right, but that’s exactly what it is.”

Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/police-called-on-black-business-owner-in-parkside-parking-lot-i-wish-she-knew-me/article_a503dc13-5f76-5b02-9eab-8db5e87c58ce.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1


People who do this should be arrested.  The woman provided false information to police.  She was wasting police resources.  BUST these racist assholes.