Black Woman Claims Racism When Police Thought She Was A Robber

Fay Wells is a black woman who had locked herself out of her apartment in Santa Monica, California.

The vice president of a media company was returning home from a soccer match and had to find a way to get back into her home. Yet, just a few minutes later, she heard a police officer demanding that she "come outside with her hands up." He also had a gun pointed at her.

Wells said, "I left my apartment in my socks, shorts and a light jacket, my hands in the air. 'What's going on?' I asked again. Two police officers had guns trained on me. They shouted: 'Who's in there with you?' How many of you are in there?'"

Ms. Wells said she remained calm as she walked towards the officers to explain that she was the only person home. She later learned the reason for the cops was because a white neighbor reported seeing a Latino man and two Latino women using tools to break into her apartment.

In addition, Wells believes that Santa Monica's Police Department's response was so strong because they thought they were dealing with ethnic minority offenders. She wrote that the police responded so strongly because she was a woman of color "in an almost entirely white apartment complex in a mostly white city."

Ms. Wells also states that the September 6 incident has destroyed her trust in the police. Police chiefs say 16 officers were at the scene.

Photo: Washington Post