A Georgia man livestreamed his encounter with police after a female Walmart shopper reportedly called the cops on him for having two white children in his care.
“She asked to see the little girl that I’m with to see if she knows who I am,” Corey Lewis says in a video he shot Sunday before police arrived, mentioning that the woman said she was going to take down his license plate number and call the police.
“All because I got two kids in the backseat who don’t look like me.”
According to The New York Times, Lewis, 27, owns and operates Inspired By Lewis, a youth-centered program where he mentors children five days a week. Lewis said he was with Nicholas, 6, and Addison, 10, while their parents were out on the afternoon in question.
Lewis continued to post to Facebook, showing the beige sedan the Walmart shopper was presumably in is now parked near his home.
In a subsequent video, a Cobb County officer is seen arriving at the scene. Lewis then tells him that the shopper is following and harassing him. As Lewis explains his side of the story, the officer asks to speak with the girl to make sure she does, in fact, know him.
Both kids exit Lewis’ car, with Addison confirming that they’re not being kidnapped and that they know Lewis. The officer can be heard saying, “It is what it is,” and asking Lewis why he’s filming their exchange.
“I’m letting the world know what’s really going on. It’s 2018, I can’t even step out into the community without being profiled,” he responds.
Lewis told the newspaper that the stressful ordeal isn’t going to stop him from mentoring kids. He was reportedly back to working with children as of Tuesday.
“The officer responded to a call for service to check on those children,” Cobb County police Sergeant Wayne Delk told the Marietta Daily Journal. “He did his job professionally and the interaction between him and Mr. Lewis was a good one… Even though he was upset, [Lewis] was very respectful in his responses. This allowed the situation to be handled quickly.”
David Parker, the kids’ father, told The Times of their reaction to the ordeal.
“It just knocked us out of our chair,” he said. “We felt horrible for Corey.”
This lady from Walmart harassed, followed, & called the cops on me. ALL because I’m black and have 2 white kids with me. 💔💔 #Inspired By Lewis
Posted by Corey Lewis on Sunday, October 7, 2018
[Featured image: Facebook video screengrab]