A black man was asked to leave his apartment complex pool in Indianapolis last Friday after refusing to give his exact address to a security guard.
Shayne Holland, who had lived in the complex for more than a year, had been to the gym and was relaxing on a seat nearby the pool when he was approached by a guard, who was also an off-duty cop.
He told the Indianapolis Star the woman approached him and asked for his address without identifying herself. Holland said he showed her his key to the pool area – something only available to residents – but declined to give her his exact address.
In a video filmed by Holland, he is seen explaining why he won’t tell the off-duty policewoman his address, and his property manager Candace soon arrives on the scene.
Shayne Holland (pictured) was asked to leave the pool at his apartment complex last Friday even after confirming he lived in the building and was allowed to be there
The pair greet each other by name, and Candace confirms he is a resident, going as far as to mention his mother’s purse is in her office for him to collect.
Despite their clearly personable relationship, Holland is still asked to leave the pool area for refusing to answer the security guard’s questions.
‘I thought the ordeal would be over [when Candace arrived],’ he told the Star.
‘Obviously that wasn’t the case and I was told to leave anyway. I was frustrated and I do feel like I was [racially] profiled.’
Holland claimed the guard had not spoken to anyone else in the pool area, further noting the other patrons were white.
Speaking to WRTV, he said he ‘didn’t want to jump to racism’, but couldn’t help but notice he was the only black person at the pool and had been the only one ejected.
Barrett & Stokely, the company that manages the River Crossing complex, said they were taking Holland’s claims seriously and continuing to investigate.
Candace, the property manager, has been placed on leave pending the results of an investigation.
‘We are disappointed that we weren’t able to handle this situation in a way in which everyone felt respected and understood,’ a statement shared to social media read.
‘We should have communicated with all residents that we would have security on site, who would be asking for proof of residency.’
Holland refused to give a security guard (left) his exact address because he says she had not properly identified herself, and when his property manager Candace (right) arrived on the scene and confirmed he was a resident, she asked him to leave for not complying with the guard
Instead of giving the guard his address, he showed her his key to the pool area to prove he lived there (pictured). Holland claims everyone else at the pool was white, and he was the only person questioned
Holland says he is aware of a spate of incidents where black people have been allegedly targeted for doing normal things like barbecuing or delivering the newspaper.
In North Carolina, a black woman and her son were asked for ID while swimming at a private pool – the only people in the area who were asked to do so, and for no reason, as providing identification is not a requirement of entry.
In California, a woman threatened to call police on an eight-year-old girl selling water on the street without a permit.
In Ohio, a woman called the police on a 12-year-old boy who had messed up his paper route and needed to re-collect the papers he had already distributed because she thought it was ‘suspicious behavior’.
Holland says he is disappointed to have worked hard to afford a place with luxuries like a pool, only to be treated like he doesn’t deserve them.
‘It’s extremely frustrating. I’m from the inner city; I’m from a place where we didn’t have a pool in the neighborhood. Now that I’m at an age and a place where I can afford to attain that, I still have to deal with being profiled,’ he said.
‘I feel like more and more people in 2018 are comfortable telling young African-Americans what they should and should not be doing.’
Barrett & Stokely, the company that manages the River Crossing complex, said they were taking Holland’s claims seriously and continuing to investigate (pictured is the pool)