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Police escorted a man out of Edgewood Park last weekend after a jogger called 911 to report that the man had concealed his face and pressed himself up against a hidden wall under a bridge where crimes have taken place. The episode sparked a wide-ranging discussion of policing and race in this Independent thread. Following is a transcript of the 911 call. (Click here for the original story.)
Dispatcher: New Haven 911.
Jogger (panting): Hi, New Haven please? A suspicious activities report.
Dispatcher: All right what’s going on.
Jogger: OK, um, I was just jogging through Edgewood Park and passed under the Edgewood Avenue bridge. And there’s a man — I’d say African American male, probably 25, with a ski mask on — who looks like, he was sort of up against ..
Dispatcher: All right. Where exactly were you in Edgewood Park?
Jogger: OK, I was jogging under the Edgewood Avenue Bridge. So the main path that goes through the park.
Dispatcher: Under the Edgewood Avenue Bridge…
Jogger: This is under the Edgewood Avenue Bridge on the main path in the park, the main paved road. And there was a guy who just looked like he was clearly lying in wait …
Dispatcher: Black? White? Hispanic?
Jogger: He was black. I would say probably 25. But all I could see were his eyes. ‘Cause he had — either it was either a ski mask or it was a hat pulled very low. with his turtleneck pulled way up.
Dispatcher: OK. And What was he doing?
Jogger: Well, he was standing up against, underneath, the side of the bridge, basically to try to make himself invisible. It’s like, he pressed himself up against the wall. He wasn’t just loitering, which would be fine. But he was like trying to look invisible, basically.
Dispatcher: So he had a black ski mask on …
Jogger: Yeah. In this weather? A guy with a ski mask ? It just made no sense.
Dispatcher: And a turtleneck …
Jogger: It was either a ski mask or a hat pulled low and a turtleneck pulled up with ha hat pulled low. Because all you could see were his eyes.
Dispatcher: Let’s see. Jeans? Anything?
Jogger: I think his pants were black. I think he dressed all in black.
Dispatcher: All right. Black pants. Was he walking? Or no?
Jogger: No. He was just standing very very still. Like he was trying to be invisible. And I said to him, I was jogging with my dog, I said, “Hey, what’s up?” And he just didn’t say anything.
[At this point the dispatcher asked the jogger’s name, which he provided.]
Dispatcher: All right. Do you want to talk to an officer? Or do you just want us to go over there?
Jogger: I just think somebody should go by and just say hi to him. Just to let him know
Dispatcher: All right.
Jogger: Thank you.