Police Stopped, Searched And Questioned Ricky Williams While He Was Simply Walking Around His Hotel
Ricky Williams was in Tyler, Texas last week for an event and he was reportedly stopped, searched and questioned by Tyler PD. Williams was walking around his hotel and before he knew it Tyler PD was there to question him.
Williams spoke about the incident on the Dudley and Bob with Matt Show on Austin’s KLBJ 93.7 on Wednesday and this is what he had to say, via The Tyler Morning Telegraph:
He said four white police officers were involved in the encounter.
“It was the middle of the day in the parking lot in the hotel,” Williams said. “They had me put my hands behind my back. They didn’t cuff me. They had me take everything out of my pockets and they started questioning me. I started to get upset. They told me to calm down. I said you don’t know what it’s like to be a black man, and it’s not the first time (police have stopped me for no reason).”
Here is the dash cam footage that was released on Wednesday:
As you can hear in the video, Williams asks the officers “Do you know how many times I’ve been messed with by cops just for being black?”
Tyler PD released a statement about the incident which details that a homeowner nearby saw Williams walking around his fence. The neighbor reportedly yelled out to the former Heisman Trophy winner before he walked around and hopped a fence. The neighbor then called the police.
The report also mentions a person matching Williams’ description was earlier seen grabbing a tape measurer “and was going to walk off with it.”
After the mayor of Tyler heard of the situation, he reportedly reached out to Williams and even invited him to stay at his house.
“And I hope I can spend some time with him when he does return. I even invited him to stay with my family when he’s here; we have a guest room he’s welcome to.”
[Deadspin]
