General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDetroit man sues three white women who called police on him for 'gardening while black'
https://www.metrotimes.com/table-and-bar/archives/2019/03/04/detroit-man-sues-three-white-women-who-called-police-on-him-for-gardening-while-blackA black Detroit man is suing three white women who repeatedly fabricated charges against him in calls to the Detroit Police Department.
Marc Peeples and attorney Robert Burton-Harris claim the women made up increasingly serious but bogus stories throughout 2017 and early 2018 as he built out an urban garden in Hunt Park near the State Fairgrounds. The women did so as part of an effort to have Peeples removed from the park, Peeples alleges. In the complaint, he states that the women had their own plans for Hunt Park and wanted to "take control" of it.
Aside from the garden, Peeples had boarded up neighboring abandoned houses and made other improvements to the park. He previously told Metro Times he was arrested for "gardening while black."
In May 2018, DPD charged Peeples with three counts of stalking, but a Wayne County Circuit Court judge dismissed the case. She called the women's charges "fabricated," said they lied under oath, and said they "should be sitting at the defendant's table for stalking and harassment charges, not Mr. Peeples." In police body camera footage obtained by Burton-Harris, an officer responding to one of the calls can be heard calling the women's charges "B.S."
The complaint filed last week in Circuit Court alleges the women worked "concertedly to cause Marc economic harm and emotional distress" and engaged in "targeted harassment of [Peeples] for more than nine months."
In the complaint, Peeples calls the women's actions "extreme, malicious, wanton, and outrageous," and alleges "the conspiracy was to get Marc incarcerated or seriously injured by law enforcement."
He's asking for $300,000 in damages.
2naSalit
(86,963 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,261 posts)marble falls
(57,537 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,261 posts)marble falls
(57,537 posts)uponit7771
(90,371 posts)progressoid
(50,020 posts)Even the Detroit police thought this was "BS". Yet somehow the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office thought they should proceed to arrest and jail him.
"Ain't no law against raking leaves," the officer is heard stating on body camera footage taken after the officers were done investigating the incident. A few minutes later, an officer directed his partner to let DPD superiors know that the women told police that Peeples had a gun, when he only had a rake.
"The guy didn't have anything on him and wasn't wanted for anything," the officer is heard saying. "They went to the end of the deal with this B.S., too."
mopinko
(70,388 posts)maybe they wanted it to go to trial, so the women could get slapped back really hard.
it was obviously escalating.
course, they could have charged them w making a false complaint.
or cops could have chewed them a new one for their shit, and arrested them for stalking.
glad the judge wasnt having it.
burrowowl
(17,656 posts)he will have a much better garden and more kids to mentor!
dalton99a
(81,708 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)should always be expected to, but he's left with a number of serious, unredressed grievances, including being harassed, defamed in his community, and arrested in front of children. Those women even destroyed his gardening improvements to erase him from "their" park.
And he has the support to do it too. A GoFundMe on his behalf has raised more than $54,000 over the past four months, crushing the original $5,000 goal. Peeples told the Metro Times that the money is helping him support the farm, and also helped him buy a house for him and his mother.
I have to do for my people and thats my concern rebuilding the neighborhood back up, he said.
marble falls
(57,537 posts)Fritz Walter
(4,292 posts)Of course, I'll weigh the evidence, including testimony, and make my verdict vote based on the facts presented in court.
I just want to see firsthand the looks on the defendants' faces when they see the consequences of their actions.
Gothmog
(145,965 posts)Lonestarblue
(10,170 posts)If white people think its okay to call police on black people who are just going about their lives, risking the death of the black person, they need to face some serious repercussions like mandatory prison time. The potential for serious punishment might help to stop some of this nonsense.
bigbrother05
(5,995 posts)Where there's a pattern, they should pay a "friendly" visit before dropping the hammer on the concerned citizens.
That this is happening in Detroit with it's urban problems is just vindictive on their part.
oasis
(49,490 posts)They should face criminal charges.
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)Sounds like this guy has found a number of activities he enjoys, and what he is doing enriches the area. And, of course, here come the bigots to make this guy's life hell. They should be tried in criminal court, and I hope Mr Peeples cleans their clocks in civil court.
lilactime
(657 posts)The Wizard
(12,556 posts)malicious prosecution for starters could get these bigots new names, defendants in a criminal prosecution.
Kashkakat v.2.0
(1,752 posts)F ARENT THEY??
Trying to think here - who do we call to complain, Detroit mayor (or any city where this BS is allowed to happen with no consequences)
Don't know why Mr Peeples isn't pressing charges but its not unheard of for prosecution to go ahead if there are grounds.
irisblue
(33,059 posts)WTF white women? WTAF?
White supremacy, by white women in actual view. And it failed.
AllaN01Bear
(18,827 posts)jcmaine72
(1,773 posts)What these women did to him was nothing short of malevolent. They should be made an example of. There are too many innocent African American men in particular who face harassment for doing little more than taking out their trash, or tending to their own gardens. This sh*t has to stop.
TeamPooka
(24,303 posts)McKim
(2,412 posts)It is so gratifying to read of this push back. These racist attackers need to be stopped! This woman is putting him in danger!
Zambero
(8,981 posts)Not too, many years ago, a caricature was fabricated. A "Kenyan-born Muslim with dubious academic credentials" had the audacity to President while black. From this the birther movement was born, and it's primary mouthpiece went on to win a major party's nomination and ultimately the presidency. Hopefully. the legal steps taken by Mr. Peeples will have a better and more expeditious outcome that the actions of an unhinged wrecking ball that has afflicted our country and the rest of the world over the course of the past 2+ years.
KT2000
(20,605 posts)This is horrible and the man is right - they have messed with his life because they are racists. Would love to see a pic of the three of them. Why are they being protected from the public? They should be known for who they are, especially so others can steer clear of them.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)First, not meaning to be unkind, but technically, if it's a govt-owned park, he's not allowed to alter it, although he can pick up trash.
But to call a report on it is very odd. If I wondered about it, I would call the govt and ask them, or tell them what's going on, if they want to do something about it. But I wouldn't call, if he's making improvements. And I certainly wouldn't call police. He's doing improvements, not throwing trash around.
Maybe there's a backstory to it. They had words about something, maybe? Maybe not. Their behavior is just so odd. Maybe they have nothing to do but cause trouble.
cstanleytech
(26,361 posts)that is essentially consent on their part for him to proceed.
cstanleytech
(26,361 posts)This gentleman took a pretty run down Park and set up what is essentially a community vegetable garden and these women are losing their shit over it? Fucking morons.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)cspanlovr
(1,470 posts)...murder by cop. Its disgusting and they should be punished.
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)We NEED to start passing laws that make this kind of falsifying reports a major crime with major penalties.
DirtEdonE
(1,220 posts)LOFL
No need to apologize to Mr. Peeples. They're white and he's not a rich white guy.
burrowowl
(17,656 posts)I bet he invests in even a better garden! He is a real hero!
Demovictory9
(32,498 posts)SunSeeker
(51,811 posts)If ever a case was appropriate for punitive damages, this is it.