Three police officers ran after Dapo Oyewole as he cycled down the sidewalk. Before he knew what was happening, he was shoved, shouted at, threatened with arrest, ordered to sign a $75 ticket and then served with a summons — until the cops discovered he was an African scholar visiting Yale.
Suddenly the summons was withdrawn. And the cops were all apologies.
Oyewole, a peacemaker by profession back home in Nigeria, saw an opportunity to spread some of that gospel here in New Haven, on behalf of black cyclists who don’t have international resumes.
“They robbed me of my dignity,” Oyewole (pictured) said, as he recounted the details of the Oct. 14th incident while sipping Pepsi at Au Bon Pain on York Street.
Oyewole is one of 18 distinguished international scholars and leaders currently installed as World Fellows at Yale. The 32-year-old runs a Nigerian think tank on governance, security, and democracy issues. (He also writes for the Huffington Post and lectures around the world.)
His ticket for sidewalk biking comes amid a recent police crackdown on cyclists.
Oyewole decided to share the story of his interaction with the New Haven police in order that others may learn from it and be able to resolve similar conflicts in the future, he said. His encounter has already drawn the personal attention of Assistant Chief Roy Brown and has led to plans for a tentatively scheduled open forum between the New Haven police and the Yale community.
“I Can Never Forget”
Shortly after 7 p.m. on Oct. 14, a Tuesday, Oyewole was riding his bike on the sidewalk on Chapel Street near the corner of Park Street. Three officers ran up from behind him and started shouting at him, ordering him off his bike.
Here’s his version of what happened:
Initially confused, Oyewole struggled to remain calm and composed. Surrounded by “three big, hefty police officers,” he made sure to be respectful as he asked for clarification.
Informed of his offense, Oyewole apologized profusely. He explained that he is a visitor in New Haven and wasn’t familiar with the rules.
His bike was “yanked” away from him. One officer in particular continued to behave in an aggressive and intimidating manner. When Oyewole asked questions, he was told to shut up. The officer shoved him three times. Oyewoled said that he was threatened with arrest within the first minute of the interaction.
“I can never forget: One officer said to me, ‘You’re gonna be in the back of my car in handcuffs.’”
Eventually the officer gave Oyewole a piece of paper and ordered him to sign it. When he asked to be able to read it before signing, he was again threatened with arrest. Scanning the slip quickly, Oyewole realized that it was a $75 ticket for riding on the sidewalk. He signed it.
Having received the ticket, Oyewole decided to speak up. He told the officers that he would be filing a complaint, that they had violated his human rights by pushing and shouting at him and by treating him in a manner disproportionate to the seriousness of his crime. In response, the officers told him angrily that he was to be arrested for “interference.” They presented him with another form, a summons to appear in court, and told him to sign immediately, or else be thrown in jail.
At this point, Oyewole said, “I wasn’t trying to avoid jail anymore.” Having decided to take a stand, he thought to himself “I’ll sign it and I’ll go to court and defend myself.”
Finally, having signed the summons, Oyewole informed the officers that he is a world fellow at Yale visiting from Nigeria. He said that he came from “a country where we are still fighting for our rights.” He explained that he was brought to New Haven because of the human rights work that he has done in Nigeria. “You have decided to violate my rights in New Haven,” he told the officers.
All of a sudden, “the attitude changed. I think they realized they could get into a bit of trouble.”
One officer took back the summons, talked about how dangerous it is to be a cop, and explained his aggressive behavior was caused by fear for his own safety. He claimed he had pushed Oyewole so that he wouldn’t get hit by a car while crossing the street. According to Oyewole, there were no cars nearby; two of the shoves had happened on the sidewalk.
Feeling disgusted, Oyewole shook the officer’s hand. The cop said to him, “I’ll never forget you.” Oyewole’s reply, he recounted with apparent bitterness, was, “I won’t forget you, either.”
Taking Action
Oyewole returned home. His hands began to shake.
His background in human rights work had given him the tools to defuse the matter, he said. “However, it only helped me to extricate myself from the situation. It did not lessen the psychological impact.”
He kept thinking about how things might have gone very badly for him. “What if I had fought back? What if I had run? What if I had put my hand in my pocket?”
“In my country, this wouldn’t happen to me,” Oyewole said. He explained that officers in Nigeria would have recognized him as a “member of society,” someone of importance. The incident with the NHPD showed him that “No matter what I achieve, some people out there will see only one thing — race.”
Oyewole said that during his one-hour exchange with the police, he repeatedly saw Caucasian cyclists pedal by on the sidewalk while the police did nothing. To anyone who might argue that the incident was not about race, Oyewole said, “I’m sorry, I beg to differ.”
“Keep Your Eye On Him”
Shortly after the incident, Oyewole received a visit from Assistant Police Chief Roy Brown, who followed up on the matter personally. Oyewole said the assistant chief told him that he could either file a formal complaint or ask Brown to hold a “corrective interview” with the officer in question. Oyewole asked Brown to have a corrective interview and asked him to “keep your eye on him.”
He described Brown’s visit as “a very noble thing for him to do.” He was so pleased with the meeting that he had a picture (pictured) taken to commemorate the occasion.
Reflecting on the entire experience, Oyewole said that it had shown him the power that a single individual possesses. “It took only one individual to change my perception of the police, and another individual to correct it,” he said. “The chief restored my faith.”
Oyewole said that others at Yale have contacted him to say that they have had similar experience with the NHPD. The World Fellows program has responded quickly and plans are being formulated for an open forum to facilitate dialogue between New Haven police and the Yale community.
Saving Face
Reached by phone, the officer who shoved Oyewole declined comment. Assistant Chief Brown did not return a call for comment.
Oyewole asked that the name of the officer who shoved him not be used for this story. “Nelson Mandela said that when resolving a problem you have to give both sides the opportunity to save face,” Oyewole said. “He [the officer] humiliated me. I don’t want to humiliate him.”