Authorities in Florida have launched an investigation after a viral video showed a group of adult White men following a Black teen and asking him questions while he was walking in his own neighborhood.
According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the incident happened in a Sarasota neighborhood after Hurricane Milton hit the state. The teen’s mother, Whitney Portela, shared the video of the encounter on Facebook. It was also shared on TikTok and has since been viewed over three million times on social media, with several people condemning the White men’s actions.
Portela in her post labelled the incident as “racial, profiling, and harassment.” “Here is a little back story: The morning aftermath of hurricane Milton my son wanted to walk the neighborhood to talk to his girlfriend on his phone, because we didnt have power service was bad in the house. THIS is what he had to deal with,” she wrote.
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“Even after telling these men he lives here they we’re not satisfied with his answer and continue to harass him.. this was not a 1 minute altercation, my son was followed for over 10 minutes dealing with this. I am so happy he recorded every moment, and thankful my child is still here.”
Portela also said the incident took a mental toll on her as she had flashbacks of the Trayvon Martin shooting. “I do not want to live in a community that does not welcome me and my children because the color of our skin.. this [sic] situations had me going back to a deep depression thinking about 2009 with Trayvon Martin.. this man grabbing something out of his car.. What if that guy wasn’t holding him back, All I can think Would my son still be here?!” she wrote.
She added: “I am posting this because people need to see that racism still exist.. This is racial, profiling and harassment at its finest. Many people have lost their lives behind ignorant idiots like this ..Please help me get this video out because this isn’t fair and it doesn’t feel good. #blacklivesmatter #blm #helpme”
In the video, the adult White men are seen following the Black teen as he’s walking. They are then heard asking the teen if he lives in the neighborhood. “Obviously, he doesn’t live here,” one of the men is heard alleging.
“You’ve been past my house four times, I don’t know you, I’ve never seen you before and you’re walking past my house over and over again,” another man is heard telling the teen. Another man is also heard asking the teen if he “lives out here.”
“I’m a part of the neighborhood,” the teen replies. One of the men is heard asking the teen if he lives in the neighborhood before claiming the Black teen “went up to my wife.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the teen says. “And I think I can walk around my neighborhood.” “Yeah, if you live here,” one of the men is heard saying in response.
Elsewhere in the video, one of the men is seen exiting a White car and taking something from the passenger seat. He is then seen trying to aggressively walk towards the teen before another man restrains him.
Another video also shows the teen talking to a Sarasota County sheriff’s deputy and reporting the White men. He also asks the deputy if what the men are doing constitutes harassment.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced it had launched an investigation into the incident. “The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is aware of a video circulating on various social media platforms of an incident that occurred in the Skye Ranch neighborhood on Thursday, Oct. 10.,” the sheriff’s office said in the statement posted on Facebook.
“Detectives have been assigned and are actively locating and interviewing witnesses in what appears to be an altercation involving neighbors and a male subject who was recording himself as he was walking. The Sheriff’s Office takes these matters seriously and will fully investigate any allegations of criminal activity.”
Trevor Harvey, the President of the Sarasota Branch of the NAACP, also described the incident as “disturbing” and asked for the men to be “held accountable.” “When the video came across my desk it was very disturbing,” Harvey said, per the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
“It’s disturbing that this year we continue to battle these types of issues with young men of color. It’s sad that we can’t even walk in our neighborhood and not be harassed by someone who doesn’t look like us because they think we don’t belong to it. It is a clear representation of what’s happening in our country.”
Harvey added: “It speaks to the climate we are in. It’s disheartening that we are still dealing with these types of issues. I was immediately concerned because it made me think of Ahmahd Aubrery, and we don’t want a tragedy like this in our community… these men need to be held accountable.”
Harvey also said they have since been in contact with the family and the sheriff’s office. “We don’t know the outcome yet but we are in that and we are in constant contact and walking with the family and meeting with the sheriff’s department to make sure the right outcome happens,” Harvey stated.
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