WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A landscaping company has a message for the community after its workers were racially profiled on the job.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Hope Lawn Care says a white neighbor got suspicious and called 911 on its workers, who are black

  • Winston-Salem Police Department says the incident clearly wasn't a criminal matter and police shouldn’t have been called

  • Chief of police says, "will not allow our officers to be used as pawns to further someone's bias"


 It happened Tuesday and has been shared on Facebook over 3,000 times. 
 
Hope Lawn Care says a white neighbor got suspicious and called 911 on its workers, who are black. The workers had on shirts with the company's logo, as well as equipment.

Spectrum News spoke with the police chief who says the incident clearly wasn't a criminal matter, and police shouldn’t have been called.

“Being black is not suspicious," says Tim Bibb, manager at Hope Lawn Care. "There’s nothing suspicious of you having dark skin. So reach across the aisle, it is your responsibility to talk to someone who wants to talk to you about what you can do to have more empathy and more understanding about the plight of black people in America.”
 
Hope Lawn Care workers say they believe this was a case of racial profiling, and based on what happened, the Winston-Salem police chief agreed.
 
“The individual who called has had no accountability whatsoever to the worker they called the police on,” says Chief Catrina Thompson of the Winston-Salem Police Department. "I, as the chief of police, will not allow our officers to be used as pawns to further someone's bias.”