Shocking footage has emerged which shows an African American man being accused of trespassing while waiting for a friend outside a San Francisco apartment building.
Software engineer Wesly Michel, 35, had been waiting outside the building when he was harassed by a white man, Christopher Cukor, 44, who was accompanied by his young son.
Cukor demanded Wesly call his friend and, after he refused, proceeded to call the police to tell them Wesly was trespassing. All the while, Cukor’s son could be heard begging his father to stop, expressing his extreme discomfort with the situation.
The child could be heard repeatedly asking his dad to stop, pleading, ‘Daddy, don’t. It’s the better daddy. I agree with him’, while Wesly advised him to listen to his son.
Ignoring his son’s pleas, Cukor could be heard describing Wesly’s appearance, noting he ‘appears to be African American’ and claiming he ‘tailgated’ him through the apartment building door.
Wesly filmed the interaction, and warned Cukor he would become the ‘next person on TV’. This appears to be a reference to those who have become internet famous after calling 911 on African American individuals for minor reasons.
These 911 calls have previously reported people for having BBQs, falling asleep in university common rooms and even just picking up rubbish in their own back gardens. This latest incident happened on July 4, aka America’s Independence Day.
While Cukor was still on the phone to police, Wesly’s friend Cathy arrived and Cukor proceeded to ask her if Wesly was indeed her friend.
When she confirmed she was, Cukor finally began to wrap up his call to the police, telling them, ‘he’s actually here with a resident’.
Meanwhile Cukor’s young son could be heard telling his dad, ‘I told you! Daddy, look what you’ve gotten us into. Let’s go!’
The video ended with Wesly pointing the camera towards Cukor’s face, stating, ‘Now you’re online forever’.
Wesly proceeded to share the footage on YouTube and Facebook, where it has since gone viral. At the time of writing, Wesly’s original Facebook post has been shared over 32,000 times, with viewers left appalled by his ordeal.
One person commented:
This really has to stop. People just need to learn to stop profiling us and just mind their f*cking business.
Another said:
This is so embarrassing. I’m shocked that son had so much common sense at such a young age. He’ll always have this video to remind him of what type of person his dad is, yikes.
Cukor has deleted his social media accounts following the incident. However ‘the world’s #1 Race Baiter’ Tariq Nasheed identified Cukor’s LinkedIn shows he works as a ‘Device Partnerships’ executive for YouTube.
In a comment made to CNN, Wesly said:
Unfortunately this incident mirrors the experience that African Americans endure daily where we are questioned on whether we belong,
I videotaped this incident to protect myself and to support my story should police get involved.
Wesly continued:
I believe that ultimately everyone wants to be seen for who they are and not prejudged,
I’m an American, a brother, a son and an ambitious Engineer who loves to code and wants to greatly contribute to the tech world in (San Francisco), a city that I love.
Racially biased 991 calls are a major issue in the US, with two bills having recently been introduced to crack down on those calling emergency services on African American individuals for no real reason.
As reported by Vox, a bill was passed by the Oregon state Senate in June which will allow victims of racially motivated 911 calls to sue callers for up to $250.
Some people have defended Cukor’s actions however, noting his father was murdered on the driveway of his Berkeley Hills home in 2012, potentially making him warier of trespassers.
According to a 2013 report by the San Francisco Chronicle, Cukor and other family members blamed Berkeley police for failing to respond to his father’s 911 call about an intruder on his property.
In a Medium article about the incident, Cukor said, ‘I’m sorry my actions caused Wesly to feel unfairly targeted due to his race.’
UNILAD has reached out to Google, YouTube’s parent company, for comment.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.