Dalton Harris was detained by police in London for unknown reasons.
The Jamaican singer, who won The X Factor UK in December 2018, has been living in London for the most part since then. On Friday, Dalton Harris broke the news on Twitter that London police detained and racially profiled him. While he didn’t give much reason for his running with law enforcement, the singer vented about “London becoming America.”
“So the cops literally just reprimanded me because I was wearing a hoody and is black so they thought I was intending on robbing parked cars in the parking lot of a super market in my market run. #LondonIsBecomingAmerica?” Harris tweeted.
Dalton Harris explains that he was going for a run and was wearing a black hoodie and a mask due to COVID-19. He was approached by four police officers who harassed and detained him. However, he was later released and not taken into custody.
“It’s the f***ing way I was approach like a criminal that had a gun or somen [sic] or was reported to be dangerous,” he added on Twitter. “And I was the only one with a mask on. You don’t feel like it in the moment cuz you are shocked but afterwards you realize the VIOLATION that racial profiling is.”
The fucked up part was the smirk on their faces cuz all four of them cuz thought it was fun trying to humiliate a young black man going for a run. So I basically pay my taxes so I can pay people to be racist and abuse protocol?
And also I dnt even look at cars ??. I hate cars https://t.co/Hv59RSlBhC
— Dalton Harris (@daltonharris) February 5, 2021
It’s the fucking way I was approach like a criminal that had a gun or somen or was reported to be dangerous. And I was the only one with a mask on.
You don’t feel like it in the moment cuz you are shocked but afterwards you realize the VIOLATION that racial profiling is. https://t.co/Hv59RSlBhC
— Dalton Harris (@daltonharris) February 5, 2021
If you’ve been following similar stories in the news, you would be aware of the countless incidents of police killing African Americans across the United States over the past several years. Last year that reached an all-time high with the killing of George Floyd, which sparked a worldwide protest.
While Dalton Harris feels that his encounter with police officers in London today was racially motivated, it’s a far cry from what black people are facing in America as they’re often killed or beaten to a pulp, often for no reason. As in George Floyd’s case, he was killed by a police officer who had his knee on his neck until he was dead. All over an assumed fake $20 bill that turns out to be real.
