Another day, another black man suspected of just… living.
In today’s news, Louizandre Dauphin was pulled over by the cops for reading a book. Yes, a book. Read below to catch the ridiculous story via Buzzed.
Louizandre Dauphin had driven out to Stonehaven Wharf, east of his home in Bathurst, New Brunswick, with a C.S. Lewis anthology in hand. An avid reader, he likes to look for quiet spots other than his apartment to take in a good book.
The wharf is a public space — the kind of location tourists are encouraged to visit. And Dauphin would know, considering he’s the director of parks, recreation, and tourism for Bathurst.
After a couple of hours at the wharf, Dauphin started driving home. About 20 minutes later, he noticed an RCMP cruiser behind him.
Once they were stopped, the cop came up and asked him where he was going and if he’d been in the area by the wharf earlier that evening. He pointed to the book on his passenger seat and told the officer he’d been there reading and asked if he’d done something wrong.
“No, we just received a call of a suspicious person down by the wharf,” the officer replied.
Dauphin said the cop was respectful and let him go, but he’s also positive that his race is why he was deemed “suspicious” by whoever made the call.
Now we can’t be black and read a book. Got it.