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Woman Calls Police on Black Man Standing in Front of His Seattle Home

A woman was recorded calling the police to report a black man standing outside his Seattle home on August 3, in a video going viral on Reddit and other platforms.

Footage taken by Dayson Barnes shows a woman, who is not identified, talking on the phone with police after questioning whether Barnes and his partner are residents of the home.

“If you guys have a lease, I’d just like to see the lease,” the woman told Barnes and his partner in the video, who are currently renting the property.

In a statement shared with Storyful, the King County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to the scene to respond to reports of a ‘potential residential burglary’.

Upon arrival, police established it was a ‘misunderstanding’ and cleared the scene after five minutes. No official report was taken and deputies confirmed the individuals in question were new renters.

The video was originally posted to Reddit on August 4 by Barnes’ partner and has been circulating on social media since. Credit: Dayson Barnes via Storyful

Video transcript

- [COUGHING]

- That's irrelevant. That's not why I call.

- Where your husband at?

- Babe, don't interact with her.

- If you guys have a lease, I'd just like to see the lease.

- No, ma'am.

- You have no business--

- For real.

- --personal documents.

- At all.

- They're like in their 30s.

- Yes, yes.

- It's just a medium weight. They're--

- The [MUTED] we got to steal something for.

- Babe.

- What's that?

- What do we need--

- Do not interact with her.

- OK, it looks like there's been a misunderstanding. So apparently, there's been a misunderstanding. When I was driving by, I saw an individual behind the house. And so I stopped.

- Profiling.

- And all the windows are closed, and it looks--

- It's hot as [MUTED]. The sun is beaming.

- And so I'm, like, shocked. And I'm like, OK. And so then I back up, and then I see an individual crouched again.

And I'm like, um, hi. Like, what are you doing at my neighbor's house. And then--

- And I greeted you, didn't I?

- What's that?

- And I greeted you, didn't I?

- I want a nap.

- So that's when I called 911 because I'm like, OK. Like, this isn't my neighbor. He said that he has a lease, and now he's got his phone and he's recording me. So OK, yeah, cops are here now. No, and the cops are here.

- You did all this for somebody that lives here and pays rent here.

- Yeah.

- [MUTED] man. You driving your car down the street. What's up?

- Hey.

- So I guess this woman was harassing my partner here.

- Oh, please.

- You literally called the cops on the place where we live--

- Come on, bro.

- --Black man walking the house.

- Come on, bro.

- Oh my gosh, this has nothing to do with race.

- We can stand right here, bro. To be honest, this is my house.

- OK, I just want to separate from her so we can talk--

- He's on our side.

- --without her yelling at us. That's good.

- OK.

- So what's going on?

- I guess she doesn't believe that we live here. We moved here three weeks ago.

- About three weeks ago.

[AUDIO OUT]

- We have a lease.

- OK, all right.

- A really weird issue to have.

- I was standing behind my house right here. She pulls up, she stops. Hello. What do you need? I wave, and she pulled off. I heard her car still humming right here.

[AUDIO OUT]

- Language.

- And I came outside.

- OK.

- And she asked me what I was doing here. I said, I live here. I walk back outside because I peep through the window, and I seen her right here.

So I go back outside, and I asked her, does she need something? And she said, yes, I do. What are you doing behind my neighbor's house? I said, I live here.

- These neighbors?

- I don't know who-- but whoever she's talking about.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- She said whoever lived here got two kids, and they don't. We live here.

- All right.

- Excuse my-- I'm--

- You guys all moved in or just starting to move in?

- All our stuff's in the garage. Some of it's in the house.

- OK.

- But--

- All right.

- I have the landlord's number.

- Either one of you have your ID on you just so I can write your name down?

- For what, though?

- What?

- For what, though?

- So I know who I contact. I don't care which one of you. Just one of you.

- Give me one second. [INAUDIBLE]

- All right, thank you.

- All right, [INAUDIBLE].

- Get the dog. Get the dog. I do not have a Washington ID.

- That's OK.

- Thank you very much. Yes, sir.

- You just move here from Texas?

- No, I've been here two years.

- Oh?

- 2 and 1/2.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- I can see where she may have been mistaken. I am kind of dressed like that. It was nippy this morning. You feel me?

- All right, thanks, sir. I appreciate it.

- Yes, sir.

- All right, you guys take care.

- You do the same.