Racial profiling? Bob Marley's granddaughter detained by California police after neighbour reported them as burglars
Bob Marley's granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast, is planning to sue Rialto Police Department in California after she was questioned by the cops while she was spotted leaving a house she had rented on Airbnb. According to Daily Mail, Donisha and two of her friends were confused for being burglars in the San Bernardino suburb.
The incident took place last week when Donisha and her friends were seen packing their belongings into a car. The police arrived at the street after a resident in the street called 911 because he or she did not 'recognize the vehicle or the people as neighbors or the homeowner'
Donisha and her two friends, Kells Fyffe Marshall and Komi-Oluwa Olafimihan, were released after the police were convinced that they were indeed Airbnb guests. However, Donsiha, who is the daughter of Sharon Marley, who was adopted by Bob Marley, was not happy with how things turned out and decided to take matters into her own hands.
Taking to Instagram, Donisha attacked the police and linked the incident to racial discrimination. "So much things to say right now... Got surrounded by the police for being black in a white neighborhood," she wrote on her Instagram. "I’m sad and irritated to see that fear is still the first place police officers go in their pursuit to serve and protect, to the point that protocol supersedes their ability to have discernment.
Donisha brought attention to how these things have been happening in the past with others and it had to stop. "Many have suffered and died in moments like these. That’s a crazy reality check. Give thanks for life, and the ability to stand our ground. We are stronger together. Use your voice collectively," she further noted.
"We have a right to be right," she concluded. Meanwhile, Kells also voiced the same idea as Donisha. She recalled the incident and wrote that, about 10 seconds after they carried their luggage into the cars, "we were surrounded by 7 cop cars." She further added how they were treated when the police arrived at the location where they were staying.
"They locked down the neighborhood and had us standing in the street. Why? A neighbor across the street saw 3 black people packing luggage into their car and assumed we were stealing from the house. She then called the police," she noted.
She also noted that the 'cops admit that the woman’s reason for calling the police was because we didn’t WAVE to her as she looked at us putting our luggage into our car from her lawn'. She stated that all of them were held for "45 minutes' while the police 'figured it out'. While the incident comes as a shock, Donisha is reportedly taking it to the court and making sure that this does not happen to someone else.
A rep for her has declined to comment further but pledged that they would release a longer version of the video and details of the pending lawsuit. According to Daily News, she is being represented by Miami-based lawyer Jasmine Rand.