Something didn't feel right to a Michigan man during a traffic stop in Dayton, OH last week. John Felton was on his way to a family gathering when he was stopped. He asked the officer why he had been pulled over and couldn't believe the answer.
"Because you made direct eye contact with me and held onto it when I was passing you," the officer replied. Luckily, Felton caught all of this on video.
Felton, who is black, began recording the interaction because he was nervous about the stop. He says the officer followed him for two miles after he failed to signal early enough for a turn. He said knew he was about to be pulled over.
"I got a nice car," Felton said to WKEF. "I don't know if he seen I was a black male. I feel like I was targeted, the Michigan car and it was about 11 o'clock at night."
The officer's race and name are unknown. Felton grew up in Ohio but now lives and works in Michigan and his car has Michigan plates. Felton posted the video on his Facebook page where the interaction has been viewed nearly 50,000 times.
Dayton police tweeted over the weekend that they are aware of the video and are reviewing the matter. The city of Dayton repeated in a statement that Felton was stopped for not signaling for a turn within 100 feet, but also acknowledge that eye contact with an officer is not a legitimate reason for a traffic stop.
Felton agreed to work with the Dayton Mediation Center to produce a useful dialogue with the officer about race in the city. Felton and Dayton police declined to comment on the ongoing situation.
"Because you made direct eye contact with me and held onto it when I was passing you," the officer replied. Luckily, Felton caught all of this on video.
Felton, who is black, began recording the interaction because he was nervous about the stop. He says the officer followed him for two miles after he failed to signal early enough for a turn. He said knew he was about to be pulled over.
"I got a nice car," Felton said to WKEF. "I don't know if he seen I was a black male. I feel like I was targeted, the Michigan car and it was about 11 o'clock at night."
The officer's race and name are unknown. Felton grew up in Ohio but now lives and works in Michigan and his car has Michigan plates. Felton posted the video on his Facebook page where the interaction has been viewed nearly 50,000 times.
Dayton police tweeted over the weekend that they are aware of the video and are reviewing the matter. The city of Dayton repeated in a statement that Felton was stopped for not signaling for a turn within 100 feet, but also acknowledge that eye contact with an officer is not a legitimate reason for a traffic stop.
Felton agreed to work with the Dayton Mediation Center to produce a useful dialogue with the officer about race in the city. Felton and Dayton police declined to comment on the ongoing situation.
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