8 Police Officers in My House
The other month, I had a hardcore day of binge eating at night, which caused me to go into a food coma in my room. This was a disgusting nap; it was nighttime, and the packaging associated with my feast was strewn about my room as I passed out.
I awoke to the sound of a cop telling me to “put my hands up.” Immediately, I obliged. “What is going on?” I asked. The officer gave me a stern look that said, “We will address that when the time comes.” He led me down the stairs. There were about 8 cops in the house. As I was registering what was going on, he asked me, “Do you know this person?” As I looked up, an officer was leading my roommate Chloe down the stairs. “Yeah, that’s my roommate,” I responded. There was a second before I turned my head when I had no idea who I’d be seeing. It was just my roommate.
After a few moments, we were told that the door was wide open and a neighbor had called out of concern.
That was a pretty terrifying experience, and it was very weird that in order to protect me and my property, that was the procedure.
I look forward to receiving the body cam footage because the degree to which I must have been confused and scared is something I definitely want to see. I can request the body camera footage for 18 months due to the Freedom of Information Act.
I definitely think about what may have happened had I been Black. It was not impossible for me to be shot and killed due to my door being open. This is the experience of many people in this country; this has happened in so many circumstances.
I understand if there had been a burglary, there could have been serious danger, so I don’t know what the appropriate response should have been to this situation, but it felt really unsettling.
Also, it felt idiotic to have 8 grown armed men telling us to lock our door. Our door had an issue, and that’s why it was open. At the end of the day, though, the cops made me feel far more in danger than the situation they were responding to. That said, the situation could have been bad, so I’m not sure what the appropriate response would have been. But it felt jarring, unnecessary, militaristic, and soulless. USA.
This is only 62.5% of the number of cops that were in my house because a door was open.
p.s
There was no a search warrant. Does that matter? Does the door being open mean they can legally walk in? Now that I’m writing this, it seems possible that some money could be owed. I am actually going to pursue this because I would love to take money from that organization. Love it. I will keep you posted, but now my desire for the footage has a very concrete purpose. I feel invigorated now. I’m excited about this fight.