Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames was held at gunpoint in his own home because his neighbor believed a ‘Large Black Man’ broke in. I guess being a celebrity doesn't exempt you from racial profiling!
The Mission: Impossible — Fallout star said that earlier this year he was held at gunpoint after one of his neighbors called the police because they believed a “large Black man” had broken into his Santa Monica, California home.
The whole thing went down while he was home watching television.
Rhames recalled, “I get up, I open the door and there’s a red dot pointed at my face from a 9-millimeter [gun], and they say, ‘Put up your hands.’ Literally.”
Praise the Lord that the officer recognized Rhames and the actor quickly diffused the potentially violent situation.
“He said it was a mistake and apologized,” the actor said, adding that he was still shaken. “My problem is, and I said this to them, what if it was my son and he had a video game remote or something and you thought it was a gun?”
Rhames said the police officer later admitted that one of his neighbors called 911 on him.
“Myself, the sergeant and one other officer, we went over to that house, which was across the street from my place, and the person denied it,” Rhames said.
He continued: “Here I am in my own home, alone in some basketball shorts. Just because someone called and said a large black man is breaking in, when I opened up the wooden door a 9mm is pointed at me.”
I am so glad that the officer recognized Ving Rhames but sadly had it been anyone else to answer the door the situation could have gotten really ugly and this story would be reported very differently including justifying why a person was potentially killed.