Comedian Jay Pharoah Reveals LAPD Pulled Guns On Him, Officer Kneeled On His Neck [Footage]
Comedian Jay Pharoah Reveals LAPD Pulled Guns On Him, Officer Kneels On His Neck [Footage]
This week (June 12), comedian (Jared Antonio Farrow) Jay Pharoah, 32, opened up about being stopped by the police this year. The SNL alum explains that while jogging in Los Angeles, he was stopped by police officers, one of which, placed their knee on Jay Pharoah’s neck. The entire incident was caught on a nearby security camera.
He recounted his experience with the LA police, saying in a social media post:
I could have easily been an Ahmaud Arbery or a George Floyd.”
Ahmaud Arbery was an unarmed black man fatally shot while jogging near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia, on February 23. The responsible party Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael have been charged with felony murder. A third suspect, who recorded the incident, has been charged.
George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis,MN. According to video of the incident, one officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck while has gasped for air, saying ‘I Can’t Breathe’. The involved officer has now been charged with second-degree murder. Officers that were on the scene with him have also been charged, but with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. His death led to a nationwide protest against systemic racism.
Now, Pharoah is detailing his experience with the police. After being stopped by an officer he says,
“I see a gun from my peripheral and I look and the officer is like, ‘Freeze – get on the ground,’ and I’m like ‘Oh snap’…”
He was ordered to get on the ground and position his arms in the shape of an airplane. Then Pharaoh said:
“Three more officers drove up… it’s hot, corona is definitely something to be worried about, the police officers didn’t have on gloves, they didn’t have on masks…When they put me in cuffs, after they were all on me, an officer put his knee on my neck.”
During his video, he says that he told that cops to GOOGLE his name.
“You will see that you made a big mistake”
The officers were then informed that the alleged suspect they were looking for had been caught. They then apologized to Pharoah, to which he replied:
“Get these f’ing cuffs off me.”
He says,
“It could have easily turned into another situation if I wasn’t who I am,” he said. “And the point here is being black in America, is just that, being black in America. Other people can’t level with the same fears I have. Leaving the house, we should not have to fear going to the grocery store, going to get some gas, running down the street. It’s called human civility. That’s what it is. It’s about being a human.”
Watch Jay Pharoah’s video below.
What are your thoughts on Jay Pharoah’s recent encounter with Los Angeles police officers? Leave your thoughts with us in the comments.