Officials at the University of Houston walked back a policy requesting that theater students wear neon vests after a campus police officer pulled a gun on a Black theater student rehearsing a dramatic scene on campus.
The campus police were responding to a 911 call on Nov. 4 of last year. The caller claimed that a Black man with a knife was assaulting a woman on a loading dock behind a building next to the School of Theatre & Dance.
The student, identified as Domonique Champion, was actually holding a piece of white paper from his script. The students were rehearsing a scene from “A Lie of the Mind” by Sam Shepard.
The police officer reportedly drew his gun in a “low-ready position” and “aimed his weapon in their general direction” while commanding Champion and the other student to show their hands and get down on the ground.
The Texas Tribune reported that the students followed the commands as they shouted that they were rehearsing a scene from a play. Both students were crying and shaking after the officer holstered his weapon while explaining they’d received a 911 call about an assault.
Champion recalled the terrifying encounter at a town hall meeting following the incident and said he did not feel safe until he heard the voice of a Black officer.
“I’m terrifyingly aware that the gun was meant for me. Because of angling, I knew it was meant for me,” said Champion. “I need it known [that] it’s more than the gun. It’s the fact the gun was already out, yes… I need you to understand I did not feel safe moving until I heard the voice of a Black sergeant.”
Champion added that the police officer who pointed the gun at him made a joke afterward. “He said, ‘You should get an ‘A’ because you had us tricked.’”
The campus newspaper reported that Champion has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks and suicidal ideation since the terrifying incident.
“I was…
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