There's a common theme to the interactions between police and the citizenry that end poorly—when the individual fails to comply with police orders or resists arrest. Don't do those things and you'll likely be just fine. That's what Joseph Griffin did when he was stopped and detained by deputies in Florida, and they were so impressed with him that they offered him a job.
Griffin was detained last month for matching the description of a burglary suspect. He was jogging when the deputies in Deltona, Florida, approached him.
The officers made clear he wasn't in any kind of trouble and explained why they were stopping him, bodycam footage shows.
"I'm gonna detain you, look, you're not under arrest. I'm detaining you right now because you fit the description," the deputy says.
Griffin, a black male, pulled out his phone to record the encounter and stream it live on Facebook.
"If something happens to me, y'all better raise hell," he says on the video.
But as a nurse and veteran, he kept calm throughout the interaction and, as a result, was offered a position with the department, should he ever be interested.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood praised how both sides handled the situation. He also acknowledged the importance of understanding either side’s point of view.
Chitwood has invited Griffin to talk with the sheriff’s department for implicit bias training, where he will tell the story from his perspective.
“I think we can all learn from his point of view, just like he has listened to ours,” Chitwood said in a Facebook post. “Mr. Griffin is a military veteran and a medical professional, and I told him we'd train and hire him as a deputy in a second if he ever wants a new job.” (Fox News)
"You're not in any in trouble or anything, there's, uh, a burglary that happened -- you kind of fit the description," the responding deputy told Joseph Griffin.
— KENS 5 (@KENS5) September 6, 2020
"Really?" Griffin responded. He was wearing a white tank job and black shorts.
https://t.co/p9o71Lhtnt
It's amazing how far respect and compliance can get people.