A Texas constable spotted a black man with dreadlocks chilling on his front porch and determined he fit the description of another black man with dreadlocks wanted on an out-of-state warrant.
Clarence Evans was sitting outside with his son and daughter when a constable from Houston Precinct 4 pulled up in front of his house claiming that someone had reported his dog as stolen.
According to the caption of the video he posted on Facebook, Evans told the cop that his dog had both a chip and the proper paperwork proving he was the owner.
The officer asks for his identification but Evans refused to give it to him, which triggered the cop into wanting to arrest him.
According to the caption:
“He then asked for Id and I politely tell him no he then says to me “put your hands behind your back Reg” I have never in my life went by that name then he tells I have a felony warrant out in Louisiana and calls me Quitin.”
Texas has a long-established law that states a person does not have to identify themselves unless they have been lawfully arrested.
The almost 5-minute video starts off with Evans speaking into the camera, saying the officer does not even know his name but has a warrant.
The officer responds that he has a warrant out of Louisiana. Evans asks how is that possible if he does not even live in Louisiana.
Fifty-seven seconds into the video, the officer calls Evans by the name Quinton.
“My name is not Quinton, what the fuck is wrong with you,” Evans responds.
The woman behind the camera also tells the cop that is not his name.
“You walked up here and called me three different names. That is the third name you just, no,” Evans tells the officer, a minute and five seconds into the video.
Evans continues by also telling the officer that he is “not going to be the next n***** you kill.”
But the cop continues to insist that Evans is a wanted man out of Louisiana.
At 1:15 into the video, Evans demands to see the picture of the person the officer was trying to arrest and demands to see a supervisor but the cop attempts to shove him towards his car instead, claiming he is the supervisor.
“You in my yard, in my property, fuck that,” Evans tells the cop, refusing to walk with him.
It’s not until 3:15 into the video when a backup officer arrives and retrieves the first officer’s phone from his car that the cop is finally able to show Evans the man he is looking for.
“That does not look like me, what the fuck is wrong with you man,” Evans responds after seeing the photo. “What you trying to say because I am black and have dreads that’s me?”
This is not the first time that Houston-area police botched their investigations with citizens this year.
In January, Houston officers killed two people in a raid based off of bad information without fully investigating.
In 2014, Houston Police were also caught illegally detaining a man and tried to delete the video.