Clarence Evans was watching his kids play in his own front yard when a Texas deputy attempted to arrest him for what he said was “an open warrant in Louisiana.” The May 8th confrontation was caught on video, uploaded to social media, and has since gone viral, adding it to the growing library of footage that depicts Black people being unfairly targeted by the police.
“I’m so pissed right now it’s not even f–g funny, I’ve always been the one to say all cops aren’t bad but this racist mf just proved me wrong,” Evans captioned the 5-minute video that starts with him pressed up against the car.
Prior to the cameras rolling, the man who KHOU 11 identifies as Deputy Garrett Lindley, a Harris County Precinct 4 constable deputy, approached Evans in his front yard questioning him about what he said was the family’s missing dog.
Evans, retelling the story to a local news outlet, said, “I told him that can’t be possible. He said, ‘OK, I’m just going to write a report and get out your hair.’ He asked me for my (identification). I told him I didn’t feel I need to ID myself because I’m on my private property. So he asked me what’s your name. I told him my name is Clarence. That’s when he told me no, your name is Reg, and you have a warrant out of Louisiana.”
At one point Lindley also starts referring to Evans as “Quentin.”
“You don’t know my name, so how can you tell me I have a warrant in Louisiana?” Evans is seen asking the deputy in the video.
Following an exchange of words, a second deputy reports to the scene. That’s when the mistaken identity becomes obvious. The officers show Evans a photo of the man they were looking for. Evans, rightly irritated by the notion that Lindley would even think the two men looked alike asked,“What are you trying to say, because I got dreads and I’m black, that’s me?”
On Facebook, Evans finishes the summarization of the events by saying, “Now I see how unarmed innocent black men get shot down by cops. He continued, “It’s no way I was letting him get my hands behind my back because he was to [sic] nervous and shaking so I knew he was scared next thing you know he goes for his weapon and shoots me in my back and say he feared for his life. He was gone have to shot this black man while looking me in my face.”
Precinct 4 issued a statement to Eyewitness News about the incident, denying any wrong-doing.
Chief Deputy Donald Steward said, “The deputy was there on official business based on a report that a wanted fugitive was near the location. The deputies left when they determined that this man was not the suspect they were seeking.”