On the evening of Monday, Sept. 7 – Labor Day – a gathering of CSUSB students at The Glen off-campus apartment complex devolved into disorder when San Bernardino Police Department (SBPD) officers responded to a report of a firearm on the scene.
Shortly thereafter on Sept. 8, the Instagram account @citamama_ posted a series of videos depicting this incident that collectively garnered over 200,000 views and 6,000 comments as of Sept. 24. Though the footage is shaky and not always easy to follow, these videos show a chaotic and unsettling series of events that have raised questions about whether the SBPD response was a result of racial profiling.
The footage depicts a disturbing scene as police detain a group of African American students while searching for the alleged firearm. In one of the most striking moments, an officer pins a young African American man to the floor while pointing a large firearm toward another man, who stands on the other side of a gate with his arms raised. In the background someone can be heard yelling in distress.
Several women stand outside the gate holding young children and attempting to communicate with those who have been detained to help them contact their families. Behind the gate, more than a dozen African American students, both male and female, sit on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
One young woman explains, “Somebody said we had a weapon.” However, both the detained students and bystanders maintain that there were no weapons on the premises.
Officers can be seen searching the area near the pool, turning over furniture, and shining flashlights into the surrounding space in an attempt to locate the alleged firearm. When the woman recording asks one officer why police were called, he explained that they were responding to a report of a gun, adding, “Look, we didn’t come to crash the party.” When she asks where the gun is, the officer walks away without response.
The tension escalates when an officer tells the detained individuals that they will be released as soon as possible and that the police do not intend to keep them there any longer than necessary. Shortly afterward, officers take a set of keys from one of the young men sitting on the ground and inform him that he will be taken to jail for running.
He immediately denies this accusation, saying, “I didn’t run, I was literally standing at the door when you came in.” As two officers pull him away, he continues to dispute the claim. One officer responds, “Don’t make it worse for yourself dude.”
The footage comes to an end as officers remain behind the gate with the detained students and family members begin arriving on the scene. Taken together, this footage presents a confusing and deeply unsettling encounter.
Police repeatedly refer to the presence of a reported weapon as a reason for their presence, yet no weapon is shown, while a large group of African American students is detained and in at least one case arrested over a disputed allegation of running.
Although these videos do not entirely encapsulate what occurred on the night of this incident, they give the community insight as to what these students experienced.
On social media, some commenters suggested the call that brought officers to the scene may have been racially motivated. Such comments include, “This is what happens when you’re barbecuing while black”, and “Being black and enjoying life is a crime nowadays.”
The CSUSB community has had a significant response to this incident. On Sept. 16, the CSUSB Black Student Union posted a statement to their Instagram account concerning the incident.
“[We] are deeply concerned by the events that unfolded that evening and by the experiences students have shared with us,” read the BSU statement. “Black students deserve to be able to gather, celebrate, and exist in spaces connected to student life without feeling that their safety or dignity is at risk.”
The union insists that there be “transparency regarding what was reported to law enforcement, the circumstances that led to the level of response students encountered, and how the situation was handled by both security and responding officers.”
CSUSB President Terri Gómez also released a statement on Sept. 10.
“The safety and well-being of our students are among the university's highest priorities,” said Gómez. “We will continue to support those impacted and remain engaged as this matter moves forward.”
The San Bernardino Police Department did not respond to ,Chronicle staffers’ requests for comment on the circumstances of the call or the officers’ response.
Details of what occurred at the Glen on Labor Day evening are still unfolding. If you were present and would like to share your story, please reach out to the Coyote Chronicle at coyotechronicle2024@gmail.com.