A young Black man was recorded at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport after he was accused of stealing his own backpack.
The student, who was only identified by his first name, Daeshaun, was on his way to visit his mother in Sacramento, California.
Video of Daeshaun nearly being arrested for claiming his own bag went viral on social media after it was shared on TikTok on June 7.
A woman only identified by her TikTok handle “rea_of_light” recorded the video, and she shared it with the caption, “This man was accused of stealing his own bag…because he walked over to throw something away. Police at MSP threatened to arrest him FOR STEALING HIS OWN BAG. You cannot tell me that this isn’t racial profiling.”
Daeshaun is heard on the video repeatedly telling the officer that the bag was his and that he had just walked to the garbage to throw something away. He also said he saw the person who took his bag to the front desk. “I was right there!” Eventually, Daeshaun began to get frustrated and said, “This is my bag, so what the f—k is the problem?”
“You’re gonna be under arrest” the officer responded.
After he showed his identification, the officer still appeared not to believe him. Even when the woman intervened and confirmed she’d seen Daeshaun with the bag earlier, the officer seemed skeptical. “It was over there with another family,” insisted the officer. “I know,” replied the woman. “He was sitting by it very much earlier …” she explained.
“Okay. Cool,” replied the policeman. Another Black man waiting to board noted that there were cameras in the airport. The officer responded that he knew that, but he didn’t have time to check because there was another incident happening.
The woman explained in a follow-up video that she was waiting to board the flight with her 9-year-old daughter, and she saw Daeshaun walk away from his bag to throw something away in the trash….
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