A California man brought his son to tears recently when he insisted on calling police on an African-American man waiting for his friend in the lobby of what is apparently a Bay Area apartment building.
Video of the confrontation, which was shared widely across social media over the weekend, showed the white man pressing the Black visitor for his credentials as he waited near the entrance of the building.
A man identified on Twitter as Christopher Cukor, who allegedly works for YouTube, was filmed dialing police on a Black man who “refused to identify himself” while waiting for a friend outside a Bay Area apartment building. (Twitter/video screenshots)
“I’m going to call the police,” the man in the clip says, despite repeated protests from his young son.
“Daddy, don’t. Don’t, don’t,” the boy says.
The man behind the camera, who says he’s a software engineer, alerts the white man that he’s being recorded and warns that he’s “going to be the next person on TV” for making unjustified 911 calls.
“You don’t need to threaten me,” the white man responds. “You just need to get out the building.”
With his cellphone pressed to his ear, the man tells the 911 dispatcher there’s a “trespasser” in his building who was refusing to leave. He claimed the visitor, who he says “appears to be African-American,” tailed him through the door as he entered the apartment building.
“He says he is waiting for a friend, and I asked him to dial on the call box and he said he wouldn’t,” the white man tells the dispatcher, attempting to explain away his prejudice. “So, I have no way of knowing if his friend is actually here.”
“He’s refusing to identify himself to me,” he adds.
“I don’t give a f–k, I don’t have to tell you shit,” the Black man responds.
As they move just outside the building, the Black man repeatedly urges the white man to “just walk away,” but the resident insists on reporting him to police. Meanwhile, the man’s young son is heard begging for his father to just let the situation go.
“Daddy, please don’t,” he says. “It’s better if we go. I agree with him, daddy.”
“Please, let’s go. I don’t like this!” he continues, through sobs. “Daddy, I don’t like this. Let’s go.”
Filmmaker and activist Tariq Nasheed re-shared the video on his Twitter account Saturday, where it has since garnered more than 8,000 likes and 5,300 retweets. Nasheed later said the man in question is YouTube employee Christopher Cukor.
A screenshot of Cukor’s LinkedIn profile names him as an employee of the company’s Internet TV & Device Partnerships division.
Ol' Chris tried to delete info from his linkdin, facebook and other accounts, but we got them screen shots tho. pic.twitter.com/H7UdgTYxlu
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) July 7, 2019
Atlanta Black Star wasn’t able to confirm Cukor works for the tech giant.
Video of the incident soon went viral, sparking a flurry of angry reactions from social media users. Amid their outrage, many also voiced sympathy for the little boy, who they said clearly knew right from wrong.
“That poor kid. I feel sorry for him,” one Twitter user wrote. “Having such an ignorant dad is not good at all.”
“Even the kid no his dad is wrong and is begging him not to call the police and to just leave,” another chimed in. “Sometimes kids are smarter than their parent. This is the case here.”
“If his kid though ever sees my post, I want him to know that I am proud of him,” said another. “It’s tough standing up to your parents. You were doing the right thing. Much respect to you for your bravery and for trying to teach your dad.”
YouTube/Google did not return Atlanta Black Star’s request for comment.
Watch more in the clips below.
