Black teenager in car with his white grandmother arrested after passer-by reports robbery

'Two old white ladies in a car with a black kid makes him a villain?'

A black teenager was arrested after a passer-by spotted him in the car with his white grandmother and her friend and reported a robbery.

Wauwatosa Police received a call to reports of a robbery from an African-American couple, who said the suspect was a black male in the back seat of a blue Lexus.

The occupants of the blue Lexus were Paulette Barr, her friend and Ms Barr’s 18-year-old grandson Akil Carter. Ms Barr was on the way to drop off the teenager at his healthcare industry job when they were pulled over by police.

In the video released by the Wauwatsoa Police Department, a policeman is heard yelling: “Everybody put up their hands in the car.”

Moments later, a second policeman says: “I’m thinking we just order the black guy out with his hands up.”

As Mr Carter is ordered out of the car, a policeman is seen approaching him with his gun drawn.

Ms Barr is heard repeatedly telling a policeman: “That is my grandson.”

Dashcam footage shows Mr Carter handcuffed and held in the police car for a number of minutes while officers investigate.

Upon realising their mistake, a policeman tells Ms Barr “It seems like there’s been a big misunderstanding. I apologise for that guy not knowing what he was talking about.”

To which Ms Barr is heard questioning: “Two old white ladies in a car with a black kid makes him a villain?”

The Wauwatsoa Police department said in a statement yesterday: “An African American male and African American female indicated a robbery either was occurring or had just occurred and the suspect was a black male in the back seat of a blue Lexus.

“The citizen pointed out the car to the officer. A traffic stop was conducted. A non-approach traffic stop was made, in which the officer called the back seat passenger back to officers instead of officers approaching the car.”

The department has defended the officers’ actions, stating that Mr Carter was detained “on reasonable suspicion for approximately six minutes while officers investigated”.

“Officers removed their handguns from their holsters based on the original information of a possible violent crime robbery in progress, but kept their weapons pointed in a safe direction during the stop.

“The officers acted professionally during the entire interaction.”

The news comes as last month, a New York legislator proposed a bill that would make it a hate crime to place dubious calls to the police against black people.

Jesse Hamilton, a Democratic state senator was campaigning in Brooklyn when a woman called the police on him. “I support [President Donald] Trump, and I see the difference between Democrat and Republican — and I see the difference between you and Trump,” she said, before dialling 911.

The confrontation quickly went viral after it was recorded and uploaded online. It comes in a string of many in recent months. Earlier this year, a viral video also showed two black men being arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia while waiting for a friend.

Mr Carter’s lawyer, Joy Bertrand, said the family had not decided on whether to sue.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Ms Bertrand said: “The family’s intention with all of this is that profiling has to stop. It may take a stop involving two white grannies to pay attention. It’s sad it has to come to that and they’re willing to bring light to the issue.”