The Oregon Senate recently passed a bill which criminalizes anyone who makes a racially motivated 911 phone call, allowing for victims of such hate crimes to sue their callers for up to $250, The Hill reported.
This new legislation comes after an increasing amount of viral videos and stories show incidents of racially charged 911 phone calls being made, one of which hit fairly close to home for one member of the Senate.
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Nearly one year ago, Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum was canvassing a neighborhood in her district.
While she knocked on doors and spoke to local residents, she caught the attention of one person who thought Bynum looked suspicious. So suspicious in fact that the person called the police and had a member of the local law enforcement arrive on the scene to confront the politician.
The responding officer was “courteous and respectful” and took a selfie with Bynum after they discussed the 911 call.
He then got in touch with the woman who initially made the call, handing the phone to Bynum so she could talk to her and ask her what exactly it was that made her look so “suspicious.”
The woman, who was apologetic, said she made the phone call because she was concerned for the safety of her neighborhood.
“It boils down to people not knowing their neighbors and people having a sense of fear in their neighborhoods, which is kind of my job to help eradicate.”
In an interview with Oregon Live at the time of the incident, Bynum estimated she’s knocked on more than 70,000 doors during her career as a politician, and this was the first time anyone had ever phoned the police on her.
Bynum introduced the new measure, along with the only other two black Democratic legislators in the state.
“When someone gets the police called on them for just existing in public, it sends a message that you don’t belong here,” she told the Associated Press . “This creates a legal pathway to justice.”
The bill received overwhelming support from members of both parties.
It will now head to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk to be signed.
“The real issue is about increasing public safety,” Bynum said. “People of color just want to live freely, and that’s an assertion that we need to continue making.”
The new bill allows victims of racially charged 911 calls to sue the people who made the phone call.
As long as the victim can prove the 911 call was, in fact, racially motivated and that the caller intended to discriminate or harm the reputation of the victim, they could be entitled to up to $250 in restitution.
This new bill comes amid a rise of “Living While Black” stories throughout the US.
These are stories of black people who have been viewed with suspicion, victimized by racist 911 calls, or even confronted by police officers and/or civilians, simply for existing in public spaces.
Just last month, a black couple attempting to picnic in a park had a gun pulled on them by an employee.
Jessica and Franklin Richardson were enjoying the sunshine at Mississippi’s Oktibbeha County Lake on May 26 when a white campground manager approached them with a gun pointed at the couple , demanding they leave the park.
In a video of the encounter, the employee can be seen holding the weapon while she confronts the couple.
Jessica made a Facebook post in which she described the terrifying encounter and also included the video showing 70-year old Ruby Nell Howell holding a handgun while she tells the couple they’re not allowed to picnic beside the lake.
In another incident, a black man had the police called on him because he was babysitting while children.
Corey Lewis was with the two white children he looks after when he was approached by a white woman who asked to know if the kids were okay.
“Why wouldn’t they be okay?” Lewis responded.
The woman then followed Corey and the children to his home and phoned the police on him.
Corey later called the incident “babysitting while black” and said there was no other reason for the police to be called.
The children’s mother, Dana Mango, defended Corey to the responding police officers.
“Are you telling me that because a woman saw a young African-American male with two white kids that they were pulled over by the police?” she asked, to which the cop reportedly responded, “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, that appears to be what happened.”
h/t: The Hill
