Black Americans are disproportionately affected by false police reports, so when Terrance Wadley defended himself, calling a white police officer âridiculous,â he wasnât overreacting.
The father picked up his daughter from school at Kennedy Elementary in Mankato, Minnesota, and parked in the school parking lot, just like any other day â except this time, the police were called.
A white teacher who had parked in the spot next to him falsely accused him of bumping her car door and reported the supposed scratch to the local police.
The officer who arrived appeared to immediately side with the teacher and was about to take statements for a report, but Wadleyâs quick thinking proved the accusation was unfounded. In a video going viral on TikTok, he can be seen opening his passenger-side door to show that it was impossible for it to have reached the teacherâs car to cause a scuff mark.Â
âI saw out of my window, the two of you whipping the door shut,â the teacher protested. When he asked to see the damage, she broadly gestured to an area on her driverâs side door, and then quickly reversed course and acknowledged there was no damage after all.
âThis little dent must have been from a different time,â she told the officer after she was caught fabricating the story.
@terrance.wadley Went to pick my daughter up from school and a lying white TEACHER who works for KENNEDY ELEMENTARY came out and TRIED to play the white Karen victim cardđ and told the police that we hit her door! Until I once again had to prove I was innocent. She told them she saw us hit her door with my door. Look how these pegan white people use their white supremacy to lie! These are the ones that are TEACHING your black sons and daughters! Look at how these PEGAN white people lie and try to protect each other. I cant WAIT for the day God judges these wicked people! I DONâT FEAR THE DEVIL!! IM JUDAHđŻ MANKATO POLICE STOP PLAYING WITH ME IM NOT ONE OF THEM ONESđ€YOU PEGANS ARE NOT SMART ENOUGHđ NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER ..means NO WEAPONđđŸTRY AGAIN SATANđđ #mankatopolice #kennedyelementaryschool #fyp #foryoupage ⏠original sound – Terrance wadley
Visibly upset, Wadley declared the situation âridiculousâ and turned to the cop who was on the verge of making a report. âIâm glad I tested it out because she would have driven away, and you would have run a whole statement,â he said.
âTerrance, weâre not doing this,â he told the shocked dad, before claiming he would have checked the parking lot security cameras before escalating the situation.
Wadley noted that the cameras were too far away to capture an alleged door scratch, but that seemed irrelevant to the officer. âI get that, but you can still show the door flinging open,â he responded. âYouâre being ridiculous,â he told the dad.
âIâm being ridiculous? By just protecting myself? Iâm glad I did the basic investigation work,â responded Wadley.
@terrance.wadley Part 2, where the officer admits he doesnât work for me, after I said I wanted to file a police report against the white teacher who falsely accused me of damaging her vehicle. #mankatopolice #fyp #foryoupage ⏠original sound – Terrance wadley
A 2022 report by the National Registry of Exonerations showed that Black Americans are seven times more likely to be falsely convicted of serious crimes than white Americans. While the three crimes with the largest number of exonerations are murder, sexual assault, and drug crimes, there are many instances where non-Black citizens weaponize the police against African-Americans for even the smallest slights.
In a follow-up video on Sept. 12, Wadley was still shaken, but he confronted the police officer anyway, saying, âYou donât have the right! You work for me. I pay taxes,â at which the officer shook his head no, and said, âI donât work for you.â The father indicated in the comments that he is filing a complaint about the officer with the Mankato Police Department.
