Man Says ‘Officers Could’ve Responded With Weapons Drawn’

MILWAUKEE, WI — Corvontae Davis says all he is looking for is an apology after a woman, who is white, called police after seeing him struggling to get into his own car during an outing in Downtown Milwaukee.

When Milwaukee police received the call on Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of St. Paul Ave. and Milwaukee St. near the Milwaukee Public Market, they responded on a report of a suspicious person seen entering a vehicle: “Caller stated that an individual was rummaging through a vehicle. Upon arrival, officers were able to determine the vehicle was in fact the individual’s,” Milwaukee Police Department said of the incident.

"I was getting ready to put money in a meter or whatever, and she has nothing else better to do and asked me if I was breaking into my car," Davis, a Racine native and graduate of Case High School, said on video. Davis told WISN 12 News the woman said she was calling police.

Davis told Patch that he showed no signs of suspicious behavior. He had a key visible in his hand unlocking his 2016 Ford Mustang on the second or third try in order to get change to plug the parking meter. A video posted on Facebook shows Davis explaining his actions as he was doing them, plugging the parking meter and waiting for police to arrive.

According to a USA Today report, the woman was originally on the same side of the street, but them walked across the street started yelling at him. According to the report, the woman tried involving other people in trying to prevent him from entering his own car.

According to reports Davis waited for police to arrive on-scene, and explained to officer that it was his own car.

"She stood there for a while. When she noticed that the cops arrived, she went off and didn’t interact with the police department. She left me out there to explain myself and the situation and what was going on," he said in the USA Today report.

Davis told Patch that if the shoe was on the other foot, and it was someone who was conducting an actual break-in, that he would pay attention to what was happening, and look for signs whether the person was either a suspect or a vehicle owner having trouble.

"I actually encourage behavior like that to be reported. But to accuse someone of being a thief who showed no actions of her suggestions is plain wrong in all parts," he told Patch. "The officers could’ve responded with weapons due to the nature of the call, but luckily they didn’t."

Davis said he is not letting the situation negatively affect him but wants people know know that they should, "always remember to respond appropriately, and things will be dealt with accordingly," he said.

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