A man is accused of using his white privilege to escape a police chase that quickly turned into a game of “cat-and-mouse.”
Fox 32 reports Cincinnati man Broc Wilson recorded a chaotic “cat-and-mouse” confrontation between a police officer and a man on the street earlier this week.
The video shows the officer being pushed to the ground after he tried to restrain the man. He then tries to escape on a bicycle, but also falls.
At one point, you can see the officer pull out what looks to be pepper spray as the man runs in circles before getting on his bike to escape.
The video has amassed over 10 million views online.
This sentiment echoes other online reactions, with some people suggesting the man got away using his white privilege.
The mention of “white privilege” here isn’t coming from anything police have confirmed; it’s coming from how people online are reacting to what they saw in the video.
Viewers pointed out that even though the situation got physical and the man was clearly resisting and running, it didn’t escalate the way similar encounters often have when the suspect is Black. That’s why some are saying he was able to get away in a way others might not have.
“Amazing how the officer managed not to shoot him,” wrote @kaylittle3476.“Would have ended differently if it were…” said @theoliviafarmer.
Police have not said why the chase began in the first place.
“Color would have died that day for sure in accordance with historical data. I wonder what was different there,” questioned @Imhinfiniti.
The reactions are tied to a bigger, ongoing conversation about how force is used differently depending on race. And in Cincinnati, that conversation hits harder because of the city’s history with racial profiling claims and past reforms. So when people bring up “white privilege” here, they’re really questioning whether this situation would have ended the same way if the man involved wasn’t white.
The current criticism is not new; the department has previously been accused of racial profiling. In 2001, a coalition of civil rights groups sued the city of Cincinnati.
According to ACLU Ohio, the lawsuit accused the police department of targeting minority citizens and harassing them based on their race.
“This is a city with a serious problem,” said ACLU Executive Director Christine Link at the time. “In Cincinnati, racial bias touches almost every aspect of law enforcement. All Americans deserve equal justice under the law, and today we are demanding no more and no less for the people of Cincinnati.”
In 2002, a landmark settlement was reached, paving the way for community-police relations models focused on reducing racial profiling and increasing transparency.
We reached out to the Cincinnati Police Department regarding the accusations, but have not heard back.
