Cops cuff white Granddad walking with black Granddaughter, claim kidnapping reported

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by NewsOne

Scott Henson (pictured), a self-described White Texas redneck, was cuffed last Friday by a swarm of policemen, because he was walking his Black 5-year-old grandchild down the street. The Austin resident spoke to NewsOne about how he was accosted by police for being in the company of his grandchild, Ty (pictured).

Ty’s mother is not Henson and his wife’s biological child; the couple decided to raise her after her own father died. Still, the woman calls Henson and his wife “Mom” and “Dad,” and naturally, her daughter refers to the couple as her grandparents.

Henson’s grandchild typically spends Friday nights with her grandfather and his wife, so that the little girl’s parents can get a break. Last Friday, Henson, who is a journalist and creator of two popular blogs GritsforBreakfast and Huevos Rancheros, took his grandchild to a skating rink near his home as a reward for being a high achiever at school. The kindergartener grew tired of skating, so the pair decided to walk home rather than have his wife pick them up from the rink.

After walking a distance from the rink, Henson felt as if he was being followed. Suddenly, someone called out to them, and it turned out to be a deputy constable.

“She told me to take my hand out of my pocket and to step away from Ty, declaring that someone had seen a White man chasing a Black girl and reported a possible kidnapping. Then she began asking the 5-year-old about me. The last time this happened, Ty was barely 2, and I wasn’t about to let police question her. This time, though, at least initially, I decided to let her answer. “Do you know this man?” the deputy asked. “Yes, he’s my Grandpa,” Ty said. “What did you say?” the deputy repeated. “He’s my Grandpa!” Ty yelled, then rushed back over to me and grabbed hold of my leg. “Okay,” the deputy responded.

The constable asked for Henson’s name and address, and he chose not to answer stating that if he was not being held for anything, he would like to take the child home. The woman complied and allowed Henson to leave.

Just as Henson and Ty were approaching their home, a police cruiser that had passed them by after the constable released them suddenly turned around and threw on his flashing lights. Four more police cars joined, surrounding Henson and Ty. Officers jumped out of their vehicles with tasers drawn, demanding that Henson throw up his hands and step away from the child. The officers grabbed the child and put her in the backseat of a vehicle. By now there were a total of nine to ten police cars surrounding Henson and his granddaughter.

“ I gave them the phone numbers they needed to confirm who Ty was and that she was supposed to be with me (and not in the back of their police car), but for quite a while nobody seemed too interested in verifying my story. One officer wanted to lecture me endlessly about how they were just doing their job, as if the innocent person handcuffed on the side of the road cares about such excuses. I asked why he hadn’t made any calls yet, and he interrupted his lecture to say, ‘We’ve only been here two minutes, give us time” (It had actually been much longer than that). Maybe so, I replied, sitting on the concrete in handcuffs, but there are nine of y’all milling about doing nothing by my count so you’ve had 18 minutes for somebody to get on the damn phone by now so y’all can figure out you screwed up.”

According to Henson, the same deputy constable who had questioned him earlier walked in on the scene and briefly looked his way as she spoke to police personnel. Soon after, a supervisor arrived and began questioning the officers. The woman came over to Henson and began explaining how the police department has to take complaints about possible kidnappings seriously. By this point, though, Henson felt he was guilty in the eyes of law enforcement for the “heinous crime of babysitting while white.”

After Henson was released, there were no apologies issued. After being interrogated, Ty was given a flashlight as a consolation prize. According to Henson, the deputy constable who could now barely look him in the eyes, “You knew better. This is on you.”

Meanwhile Ty, who was visibly shaken after witnessing how authorities treated her granddad, is left with a negative perception of law enforcement. “I hate for a 5-year-old to be subjected to such an experience. I’d like her to view police as people she can trust instead of threats to her and her family, but it’s possible I live in the wrong neighborhood for that.”

So, were these cops 'outta control', or 'doing their job'?

[Vette40th]

Holy Heck. I have friends that are white with black children, and compared to this guy, they would have lost their collective mind.

[Chris Fowler]

“She told me to take my hand out of my pocket and to step away from Ty, declaring that someone had seen a White man chasing a Black girl and reported a possible kidnapping.

Wondering if this part is actually true...

[HeatherO]

wow!! that's really f'd up

[Fasglas]

I was unaware a deputy constable had authority to detain and question anybody, about anything.
I smell lawsuit..

[C5SilverBullet]

Keep Austin Weird...

[C5SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by Fasglas

I was unaware a deputy constable had authority to detain and question anybody, about anything.
I smell lawsuit..

Constables may make a warrantless arrest for any offense committed in their presence or view anywhere in Texas, except for offenses under Texas Transportation Code, Title 7, Subtitle C, which covers most moving traffic violations.[6] However, they may enforce all state and local laws while in their county, including traffic offenses. Constables may serve arrest warrants anywhere in Texas.

[Allan]

They really do things a little different in Texas, don't they?!

[island14]

Originally Posted by Chris Fowler

Wondering if this part is actually true...

If that part was true I would expect them to make the stop and question him.

For some reason I have my doubts it was true, or the news story would have made a point to back it up.......

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by island14

If that part was true I would expect them to make the stop and question him.

For some reason I have my doubts it was true, or the news story would have made a point to back it up.......

They did stop him and question him AND his granddaughter... then they did it again.

[ft laud mike]

Bizzare, I wonder if there actually was a report, maybe some "good samaritan" called in to the police because to them it looked odd.
"The constable asked for Henson’s name and address, and he chose not to answer stating that if he was not being held for anything, he would like to take the child home."
This is probably what did him in, if he had explained himself, as he eventually had to do anyway, this probably could have been avoided.
And before all the "I have a right to go anywhere blah blah blah" people show up, if this had been a real kidnapping, you would all be on here with comments to the effect of "WTF?, how could they let him go, without so much as verifying his story".
True story;
Wife, me & daughter landed at Schipol airport, netherlands
my wife & daughter joined the EU line for customs as it is shorter (wife & daughter both have UK passports).
As I am standing about 20 people back in the non-EU line I see wife & daughter at the customs window....this continues, now I am # 10. I see wife pointing at me. Customs motions me over,
Long story longer- wife kept her last name, daughter has my last name, wife is black, daughter is light brown or lighter customs guy was worried about why this 3 y.o. child was traveling with a female, different last name, and obvious difference in skin tone. I showed my passport, and the matter was cleared up in about a minute. Interesting side note to this, we had gone through the US & UK before this, neither of those countries caught this "questionable" situation. I thanked the customs guy, if my daughter was being kidnapped, I want someone questioning anything that looks out of place.

[island14]

Originally Posted by ApexOversteer

They did stop him and question him AND his granddaughter... then they did it again.

I saw that, and to me that was what made it so f'ked up.

What I meant was this part.

declaring that someone had seen a White man chasing a Black girl and reported a possible kidnapping.

If that was true or not... I have little faith it was..

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by island14

I saw that, and to me that was what made it so f'ked up.

What I meant was this part.



If that was true or not... I have little faith it was..

I'll bet you that the report was made... by some nosey asshat with nothing better to do than lie to the cops and watch what happens from a distance, and now they think they're terribly clever.

[island14]

Originally Posted by ft laud mike

Bizzare, I wonder if there actually was a report, maybe some "good samaritan" called in to the police because to them it looked odd.
.

That was something I had not considered, and very possible.

But I would think the news story might have backed it up better if so.


I assumed the first stopping officer made it up as a reason to question.
(possibly a wrong assumption)

[island14]

Originally Posted by ApexOversteer

I'll bet you that the report was made... by some nosey asshat with nothing better to do than lie to the cops and watch what happens from a distance, and now they think they're terribly clever.

Wouldn't be the first time that happened... prolly right

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by ft laud mike

Bizzare, I wonder if there actually was a report, maybe some "good samaritan" called in to the police because to them it looked odd.

A good samaritan wouldn't have said the white guy was "chasing" the black child when he wasn't.

Rather than a "good samaritan" I sense some nosey bitch with nothing better to do than f*ck with people, or a racist coward who just had to ruin these nice folk's walk.

[78SA]

Originally Posted by ApexOversteer

So, were these cops 'outta control', or 'doing their job'?

Both.

[OddBall]

Originally Posted by ft laud mike

Bizzare, I wonder if there actually was a report, maybe some "good samaritan" called in to the police because to them it looked odd.
"The constable asked for Henson’s name and address, and he chose not to answer stating that if he was not being held for anything, he would like to take the child home."
This is probably what did him in, if he had explained himself, as he eventually had to do anyway, this probably could have been avoided.
And before all the "I have a right to go anywhere blah blah blah" people show up, if this had been a real kidnapping, you would all be on here with comments to the effect of "WTF?, how could they let him go, without so much as verifying his story".
True story;
Wife, me & daughter landed at Schipol airport, netherlands
my wife & daughter joined the EU line for customs as it is shorter (wife & daughter both have UK passports).
As I am standing about 20 people back in the non-EU line I see wife & daughter at the customs window....this continues, now I am # 10. I see wife pointing at me. Customs motions me over,
Long story longer- wife kept her last name, daughter has my last name, wife is black, daughter is light brown or lighter customs guy was worried about why this 3 y.o. child was traveling with a female, different last name, and obvious difference in skin tone. I showed my passport, and the matter was cleared up in about a minute. Interesting side note to this, we had gone through the US & UK before this, neither of those countries caught this "questionable" situation. I thanked the customs guy, if my daughter was being kidnapped, I want someone questioning anything that looks out of place.

Also, who's to say that ol' Scott Henson himself didn't call it in to set the cops up and get an easy law suit?

[Yamma]

I think those cops were out of line. There are soooo many people out there that are white with black or asian children, and my first instinct wouldn't be to think they'd been kidnapped. I feel awful for the little girl that was subject to watching her grandad getting hassled and arrested.

[bill_daniels]

Well, by the time the granddaughter reaches driving age and starts getting pulled over for DWB, at least she will have had some experience with it.....it won't be a total surprise.

I agree with Apex's assessment.....a mean spirited neighbor who probably doesn't approve of interracial anything probably made the initial report. I have real doubts that a bunch of cops would have decided to do what they did without some sort of initial external push.