Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Pharoah has detailed a February incident where he was stopped and handcuffed by Los Angeles police. One officer placed their knee on Pharoah’s neck in a similar fashion to what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota last month.
Floyd died while in police custody, setting off global protests against racism and police brutality.
Pharoah posted a video to Instagram on Friday (June 12) showing security footage that captures the incident. Four officers are shown approaching the comedian with guns drawn on him as he was exercising.
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“I was actually on Ventura, I was exercising, as I’m walking across the street…I see an officer to the left of me. I’m not thinking anything of it because I’m a law-abiding citizen,” Pharoah says in the video. “I see him coming with guns blazing, I see him say, ‘Get on the ground, put your hands up like you’re an airplane.’ As he’s looking at me, I’m thinking that he’s making a mistake.”
According to Pharoah, the incident took place a week before Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. Arbery, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23.
“We as a country can’t breathe anymore,” Pharoah said. “We are tired, we are sick, and we are tired of it. I can’t breathe.”
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Pharoah’s ordeal reminded him he could’ve been “Ahmaud Arbery or a George Floyd” following his encounter with the police. The actor/comedian says the officers apologized to him after another call came in, telling him he “fit the description” of another man in the area wearing gray sweatpants and a gray shirt.
Los Angeles police spokesperson Drake Madison told USA Today the department is looking into footage provided in Pharoah’s video and says the comedian has the right to file a misconduct complaint against the LAPD.
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In his new Netflix special 8:46, fellow comedian Dave Chappelle revealed an encounter he had in Ohio with the cop who went on to murder John Crawford.
