‘You’re Where You’re Not Supposed to Be’: New York State Cops Detain Black Door Dash Driver Whose Car Was Stuck In the Snow and Refused to Help Him
A Black man making a delivery for DoorDash ended up having his car stuck in the snow in central New York last month, which led to local cops detaining him for unspecified reasons.
“You’re being detained right now,” Solvay police Officer Ken Isyk told the Black man, who posted the video to his TikTok channel, Black.the.Audit, where it has since been shared on other social media platforms like X and Reddit.
“For what?” said the Black man, who has not yet responded to messages from Atlanta Black Star seeking more details.
“Because we’re investigating something,” Isyk responded.
The Black man asked him what crime he was suspected of committing but the officer was unable to articulate specific facts that would have lawfully justified his detainment of the man.
“Do you have ID on you?” Isyk asked.
“Yes, I do,” the Black man responded.
“Were you driving?” the cop asked.
“Yes,” the Black man responded.
“Give me your driver’s license,” Isyk demanded.
“No,” the Black man responded, angering the cop.
“No is not an answer,” Isyk told him.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, sir,” the man responded.
“We don’t know that yet,” Isyk responded.
“Did I commit a crime?” the Black man asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Isyk responded.
“Know Your Rights”
In other words, the cop was fishing for a reason to arrest the Black man, hoping to find the man had a bench warrant for his arrest, trying to intimidate him into handing over his identification.
But the Black man knew his rights and was not afraid to stand up for those rights.
According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, police can demand identification if they pull you over while driving your car for a traffic infraction.
“Police may stop and briefly detain you only if there is reasonable suspicion that you committed, are committing, or are about to commit a crime,” according to a “Know Your Rights” guide sheet posted online by the NYCLU.
“In New York, you are not required to carry ID, and you don’t have to show ID to a police officer. If you are issued a summons or arrested, however, and you refuse to produce ID or tell officers who you are, the police may detain you until you can be positively identified.”
But in this case, the cops had no legal basis to issue him a summons or arrest him, which was why he was in his legal right to refuse to identify himself.
“I haven’t done anything, sir. I’m just here working,” the Black man explained.
And the cop took that as a personal insult, threatening to tow the man’s car, but not as a favor to help him get the car unstuck but as a punishment for not complying with his unlawful demands.
“Tow it! Tow it!” the Black man dared.
“Why are you being so difficult?”
“So exercising my rights is being difficult?” the Black man asked.
“It’s not exercising your rights,” the cop insisted. “We got a call for a suspicious vehicle, we’re here investigating it.”
However, the cop never explained what made the car “suspicious” – other than the fact it was being operated by a Black man in a town where only 4 percent of residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census.
Upon realizing the Black man was not going to succumb to the cop’s pressure to hand over his identification, he ordered the Black man to leave – despite the fact the man’s car was stuck in the snow.
“Get your car out of here, get it out now,” the cop demanded.
“I’m trying to,” the Black man explained. “Can you help me?”
“No! You know why? ’Cause you’re being difficult,” Isyk said. “If you would’ve been a little nicer, I would have been happy to help you.”
The second cop chimed in, telling the Black man he was suspicious “because you’re where you’re not supposed to be.”
“You don’t live here,” the second cop said. “Get in your car and get out.”
“I need help,” the Black man explained.
“Call somebody then,” the second cop said.
“I told you, I’m stuck,” the Black man pleaded.
“Call a tow truck,” the cop told him, which was something they were threatening to do moments earlier.
Visibly frustrated, the cops walked back to their patrol car, refusing to help the man get his car unstuck from the snow.
“They started talking that I’m not supposed to be here, I’m trespassing,” the Black man said as the cops were walking away.
“That’s not what we said,” one of the cops responded.
“Yeah, you did say that, you did say I’m not supposed to be here,” the Black man corrected the officers.
“I mean, I’m trying to get out, I thought I was going to get some help,” the Black man said. “All I’m getting is interrogated, being called a liar.”
“Nobody called you a liar,” Isyk said.
“I told you I was here for DoorDash,” the Black man said. “I’ve been working seven hours.”
“All we asked for was some proof,” the cop responded. “It’s pretty simple.”
But a white woman at the scene who apparently received a food delivery from the man said she had already confirmed to the cops he was a DoorDash driver.
“They asked me if I got my food, though,” she told the man.
“They just came out as if I was committing crimes and all kinds of stuff,” the man said. “I did nothing.”
“Well, you’re working while Black, buddy, sorry,” the white woman told him.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Solvay Police Department for comment but have not heard back from them. But we will update the story if we hear back from the DoorDash driver or the police department.