Corey Lewis, who runs an after-school mentoring program in Marietta, said a white woman spotted him and the children eating at a Subway restaurant and followed him to a nearby gas station, where she asked to speak with the children. She tailed him back to his house, where they were met by a Cobb County police officer, as the woman had called 911.
Lewis streamed the interaction with the officer to Facebook Live on Sunday. Since then, the video has racked up more than 200,000 views and been shared more than 5,000 times.
“All because I’m black and have two white kids with me,” Lewis said on Facebook.
In the video, he can be seen telling the officer he is being followed and harassed. The officer then says he needs to speak with the children to make sure Lewis’ story checks out.
"At this point in time it's, like, an OK check, to make sure everything is all right," the officer says in the video.
One of the children, a young girl, can be seen telling the officer that Lewis is their after-school caretaker and sometimes their babysitter. She said they were eating dinner at Subway after a trip to Catch Air, an indoor play facility.
Lewis tells the officer he works in child care and shows the shirt he is wearing, which promotes his business. The officer asks him why he is recording.
“I’m letting the world know what’s really going on,” Lewis can be heard saying in the video. “It’s 2018. I can’t step out into the community without being profiled.”
The officer appears to be sympathetic, if not apologetic.
“It is what it is,” he can be heard telling Lewis. “Do you understand?”
Lewis stopped recording after the officer confirmed that nothing was wrong. The woman who called 911 is never shown in the video, and it is unclear how the incident was resolved. AJC.com asked the Cobb County Police Department for comment.
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