Apparent misunderstanding leads to terrifying ordeal for black homeowner
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BRENTWOOD, TN (WSMV) — Each year police departments are bombarded with calls mistakenly reporting Black persons engages in suspicious activity.
The implications of those calls mean very different things to the reporting party than the person who’s being perceived as a threat. The consequences can sometimes be disastrous.
Last month a caller dialed Brentwood Police to report a Black man inside a vacant home.
The home was not vacant but belonged to James Crumlin, a Nashville attorney who was shocked to find three Brentwood Police officers at his front door asking for proof that he lived there.
The interaction ended without issue, but a few weeks removed from the incident, Crumlin is still shaken.
“I mean I’m thinking if I didn’t come to the door when I did, they might have come in,” Crumlin said. “But if they did, there’s a slight possibility I would not be here today.”
Crumlin is sharing his story in hopes that it will become a teachable moment.
Later today on News4 at 4 we’ll listen to more of the 911 call and what happened when we tried to reach the woman that called police.
That’s at 4 p.m. only on News4.
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