Officers who detained Black real estate agent, clients acted appropriately, department says

Michigan police said Tuesday that an internal review revealed that officers acted appropriately in an incident earlier this month in which they handcuffed a Black real estate agent, as well as a prospective home buyer and his 15-year-old son, during a home showing. 

The Department of Public Safety for Wyoming, Mich., said in a statement that although “it is unfortunate that innocent individuals were placed in handcuffs, our officers responded reasonably and according to department policy based on the information available to them at the time.” 

“Community members and the media have asked for a response regarding whether or not the race of the Realtor and his clients played a role in the police response to this incident,” the statement said.  “After a thorough internal review of the actions of each of our public safety officers who responded to this incident, we have concluded race played no role in our officers’ treatment of the individuals who were briefly detained, and our officers responded appropriately.”

The Aug. 1 incident attracted national attention after the real estate agent, Eric Brown, and prospective home buyer Roy Thorne said they were racially profiled when police suspected them of intrusion during a home showing. 

The Wyoming city police previously said that officers had been responding to a 911 call from a neighbor reporting a break-in at the house. 

The department noted that there had been a burglary at the same address in late July, noting that a “suspect was arrested and charged for unlawful entry during that incident.” 

“When the officers arrived, there were people inside of the residence in question,” a previous statement from the department read, noting that the individuals were placed in handcuffs under “department protocol.”

Dashboard and body camera footage released by police show the officers gathered outside the home in the overwhelmingly white neighborhood and ordering Brown and Thorne, as well as Thorne’s son, to exit the home with their hands above their heads. 

Police officers put all three of them in handcuffs before Brown was able to explain the situation to officers and show them his real estate credentials. 

The officers then removed the handcuffs after the officer who reviewed the credentials said, “Yeah, he’s a realtor.” 

However, Thorne previously told NBC affiliate WOOD-TV that the incident was “a little traumatizing.” 

“I guess because under the current climate of things, you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.