EASTPOINTE (WWJ) An Eastpointe woman is facing a nearly $400 fine for talking too loudly on her phone—which she claims was because of her race.
Diamond Robinson, who is Black, told FOX 2 she was walking up and down Cushing Street on Thursday around noon when a neighbor, who is white, approached her and asked her to get off her phone, or to speak quieter.
The exact tone of the neighbor's request and the wording is not known.
“And I said ‘Get of my face’ and proceeded to walk past her” Robinson told FOX 2’s Camille Amiri. “She is saying whatever she was saying. And three minutes later, the Eastpointe police showed up.”
Robinson started recording a Facebook Live as officers arrived.
Police asked her to stop recording. When she did not, police slapped her with a $385 ticket for creating a public disturbance.
“The caller stated that she tried to talk to the woman, but she had not stopped yelling. Officers arrived and observed Diamond Robinson standing on the sidewalk with her phone," a release from Eastpointe Police read. “Ms. Robinson could be heard from approximately 150 feet away,”
Officers said in a release they “believed the disorderly conduct would continue when (officers left)," based on how Robinson allegedly acted when police arrived,
Officers also said the neighbor had filed a previous complaint with Eastpointe Police alleging Robinson had posted “threatening, harassing and intimidating messages about her on social media.”
Robinson denied doing so.
About four hours later, Robinson filmed herself on Facebook Live filing a police complaint against her neighbor at the Eastpointe Police Department.
WARNING: The below video contains explicit language.
“A public nuisance has nothing to do with walking and talking on your cellular device,” Robinson said during the video.
She added: “I’m stressed out, I don’t know what’s going on.”
Robinson said she filed the harassment complaint after her neighbor yelled at her from across the street while Robinson was sitting on her porch and Facetiming.
Robinson said the woman asked: “Are you recording me?”
Eastpointe Police said they have no choice but to respond to a complaint. They ticketed Robinson on Noise Complaint, Resisting an Officer, and Municipal Civil Infractions.
“We expect our officers to maintain public peace. This can often be accomplished through discussions and negotiations, but sometimes enforcement action has to be taken,” the police statement read.
Police plan to hold a mediation between Robinson and her neighbor in the foreseeable future.
The neighbor has not commented on the incident.
In the meantime, Robinson said she felt she had to film her encounter with police. She intends to fight the ticket in court.