Barbecuing While Black: Students Racially Profiled at The Glen Student Living On Sept. 7, students trying to enjoy their Labor Day weekend were racial profiled, verbally and physically assaulted, harassed, and wrongfully detained by San Bernardino Police Department officers. As a student who was also present that night, I can attest that students were not engaging in any harmful, dangerous, or disrespectful behavior. What we see happening all the time around us, racist stereotypes and ideologies manifesting into abuse, has happened to members of our community.

A group of CSUSB and San Bernardino Valley College students gathered at The Glen apartments to barbecue, swim, and come together for the three-day weekend. As the night progressed, police told the victims they received a call reporting that there were over 20 people at the pool and a firearm present, as someone who was there, I can attest that none of that is true.

“We weren’t being disrespectful to the community. We genuinely were just trying to enjoy our Labor Day as Americans,"said an African American student, who was among the wrongfully detained and requested to remain anonymous.

The police stormed into the pool area with guns drawn and ordered everyone to put their hands up and lie on the floor. One bystander video posted to Instagram shows an officer kneeling on a student's back and using his gun to scan the pool perimeter. Police then lined the students up against a gate while handcuffed and detained them there.

“I felt humiliated and singled out,” said another student, who wishes to remain anonymous. “One comment that really stuck with me was when an officer said that one of the guys was staring at him and asked what he was looking at. He then said something along the lines of the guy looking at him ‘like he wanted a kiss.’”
Why did officers believe that the students at the pool were a safety risk? Because they are Black? Because of the genre of music that was playing? One can’t help but wonder if the officers would have handled the situation the same way had the students been white.

“As Black college students, it's hard not to wonder whether or not race played a role in how we were treated. We were simply trying to enjoy ourselves, and suddenly we were being treated like we were dangerous,” she said.

The officer accused the student of trying to run when he questioned why he was being arrested. The student began screaming his mother’s phone number, begging bystanders to call her and tell her what happened.

Another student says “Hearing and seeing people being held at gunpoint with huge weapons was the shock…being told to ‘shut up’ when telling my family to call my mom and to record so they wouldn’t get away with what they were doing…yanking and pulling on my arms…being threatened that I would be put into a back of a car for asking why they need my information.”

Videos show police asking bystanders to go and open the pool gate for another police officer who had detained a man from outside of the pool.

“Can you please stop hurting me like that!” The man appears to be in pain, limping and screaming in pain while pleading with police to stop hurting him, trying to explain that his ankle has been injured.

Bystanders say the man was not with the group and that his head was busted, his shoulder was out of place, and that he was later taken away in an ambulance.

Most of the students that night were from out-of-state, attending either CSUSB or San Bernardino Valley College on a sports scholarships. So, tThey have no immediate family here to help them through the process and trauma of being wrongfully detained, dehumanized, and assaulted.

“We believe it is important that the experiences and perspectives of those involved are heard and that the circumstances surrounding the incident are carefully reviewed,” said CSUSB President Terri Gomez in an email statement sent out to students and parents.

What happened on Labor Day at The Glen was another opportunity for police to exercise their power and authority over young Black students. If students aren’t safe enjoying the amenities that they pay for in the community where they, attend school, and where they call home, where are they safe?

The San Bernardino Police Department and The Glen Apartments have not made statements since that night and have not responded to requests for comment.