A Black filmmaker and his two children reportedly were followed by a white woman back to their home in a gated community. The woman, who many are calling a “Karen,” grilled the man outside his own home and was shame-faced when she discovered the man she was questioning about his whereabouts owned the home.
On Sunday, July 10, Joshua Miller and his kids, 13 and 5, went to the park to play Pokémon Go. As the family started their way back to their gated townhouse complex in Victoria Park, Lisa Smith approached them and asked what Miller was doing, despite seemingly not living there herself.
Miller claims Smith racially profiled him and his children and harassed him; he videotaped her behavior and posted it on social media.
In the footage, the blond-haired and petite-sized woman stands in a blocking position in front of Miller’s home and says, “What are you, right now, sitting out here doing?”
The father responds, “I’m minding my own business. What are you doing?”
“I don’t think you are minding your own business,” Smith says with a sneer and disapproving look.
He shoots back at her, “Okay. What do you think I’m doing?”
She whispers, “I’m not really sure, but I’ll figure it out.”
Miller responds, “Okay, you figure it out. I’m probably where I live.”
Smith starts to slightly shift her position, and whispers, “Yeah, I live here too.”
Miller repeats, “I’m probably at my house, where I live.”
The woman then softly asks, “What are you doing?”
Smith replies, “You feel good? Did you do what you needed to do?”
She raises her voice and asks, “What the f–k are you doing right now?”
He tells her again that he is standing in front of his own house, reminding her that she, too, is standing on his property.
“Why are you standing outside your house, doing what you’re doing?” she asks.
“I don’t think that’s any of your concern, what I’m doing,” Miller says.
As the conversation wanes down, Smith sees that she is playing a losing game, especially when she realizes that she will probably be the Karen of the week. She storms off to exit the gated community.
Miller continues to film, never expecting the little bit of comic relief to that intense exchange. Smith can’t seem to get past the gate and struggles for about 30 seconds before figuring a way out and off the camera.
Miller’s wife called the police at 9:09 p.m., according to a source, hoping patrols would arrive at her home so that the family could report the harassment. Officers did not arrive until 10:53 p.m., long after Smith had left, and got a statement about the incident.
One person wrote, “Very disturbing and chilling that this person felt that she had some right to stand in front of you and your home, in your own community – to harass and insult you this way. #EndRacism”
Miller enlisted his friends on social media to spread the word about his harassment. During their sharing, Smith’s name and employer reportedly were discovered.
A person who identified himself as his brother detailed the altercation with his followers. Then he posted information about the woman on neighborhood watch, in a neighborhood not her own.
According to his research on LinkedIn, Smith works as an executive director in the anesthesiology department of Change Healthcare. Both Miller, his brother and others tagged the medical professional service on Twitter, sharing the video and asking if they knew that Smith behaved in such a manner.
“Absolute bs! Racist pure and simple. She’ll wish she didn’t have that extra drink in the morning though. One of @Change_HC’s best people I’m sure. Does @Change_HC condone racial profiling and harassment??”
By the next day, Smith had changed all her social media, including Facebook and Twitter, after the video went viral and people started to identify her as the woman in the footage.
On Tuesday, Miller tweeted he spoke to Change Health Care about Smith’s profiling and harassment.
“I just got off the phone with @Change_HC actually they hung up on us. They didn’t want the call recorded. Didn’t apologize,” he tweeted. “Just asked me what led up to this!!!! When all that led up to this the racism of Lisa Smith. They were never planning on doing anything. #racialprofiling”
His brother, who was also on the call, took to Twitter to share his takeaway from speaking with Change Health Care, writing he was “appalled.”
“I am appalled that this company is in the healthcare industry at all, let alone calling themselves Change Healthcare. That was the worst professional call I’ve ever heard. Felt like talking to a brick,” he posted.
Neither Change Health Care nor Lisa Smith have publicly spoken out about the incident.
