Kazeem Oyeneyin being detained by police in his home
Raleigh, NC — Kazeem Oyeneyin, a 31-year old Black man from Raleigh, was harassed by police who responded to a false burglar alarm and mistakenly thought he was burglarizing the home he has owned for the past 5 years. Police detained him even when he tried to explain that he was just sleeping in his own home.
Video footage from Oyeneyin’s security camera showed a police officer holding a gun knocking and pushing his door while yelling, “Police. If you’re inside, make yourself known. Come on out with your hands up.” Oyeneyin, who can be seen wearing only underwear from his sleep, walked to the front door.
The officer demanded him to get on his knees and to “turn around and face away from me” and Oyeneyin unknowingly complied. Suddenly, several other White officers arrived and entered his home without a search warrant.
When Oyeneyin tried to tell the officer that he owned the home, he only ordered him to sit down. He kept on telling the officer that he had done nothing wrong, but then two officers handcuffed him and escorted him outside to the police car while still only wearing his boxers.
Oyeneyin tried to seek help from his neighbors to tell the officers that he owned the home, but they did not come to his defense.
Police continued searching his home while he was handcuffed sitting on the back of the squad car until a second sergeant who knew him arrived at the scene and confirmed his identity.
Police have yet to apologize to Oyeneyin but said that they are “looking into this incident and reviewing our officers’ actions.”
Meanwhile, Oyeneyin said that he wanted an apology and he plans on taking legal actions regarding the incident.