Seattle yogurt shop worker called cops on Black man who was there doing his job

Byron Ragland, 31, a Black Air Force veteran and court-appointed special advocate and visitation supervisor, was at the shop supervising a visit between a white mother and her son.

Dawn Onley

Nov 18, 2018

Police in Kirkland, Wash., asked a Black male customer at a frozen yogurt franchise to leave after two employees reportedly felt threatened, ahem, by his presence, according to The Seattle Times.

Byron Ragland, 31, a Black Air Force veteran and court-appointed special advocate and visitation supervisor, was at the shop, Menchie’s, supervising a visit between a mother and her 12-year-old son, both of whom were white, the report said.

One of the employees called the manager to report that Ragland hadn’t ordered anything but was sitting in the store making her feel uncomfortable. The manager, who wasn’t actually in the shop during the incident on Nov. 7, then called police, the report says.

While the boy ate ice cream, Ragland supervised the visit with his mom for about a half hour. The next thing he knew two police officers were standing at his table. “They asked me to leave,” Ragland told the newspaper. “They asked for my ID. They told me the manager had been watching me and wanted me to move along.”

Ragland did leave. According to the police report, Ragland told officers he was at Menchie’s working. “Ragland had two associates (female adult and male juvenile) with him, who stated they were there with him for visitation,” the report says.

Even still, when he was asked to leave, he complied. “After Ragland left the store, (store employees) told me that he had been in the store for awhile and did not buy anything, and he was not making them feel comfortable,” the report reads. “They were both thankful that Ragland was gone.”

Here is the 911 call made. In the call, store owner, Ramon Cruz, told 911 dispatcher that the two white female employees were “scared because he (Ragland) looks suspicious. All he does is look at his phone, look at them, look at his phone, look at them.”

Recently, the shop has had problems with “the homeless shooting drugs in the bathroom,” and also a robbery, Cruz told the dispatcher.

The dispatcher then says: “We can have the officers come there and tell him to move along.”

In commenting on the incident to The Seattle Times, Ragland appeared sad. “How would you feel hearing that you made people so scared and uncomfortable that they called the police?” he said. “For me, that’s just Wednesday. I try not to let it consume me. But it’s hard not to conclude that I walk around in a certain skin, and that’s all that matters.”