Last Wednesday, three teenagers were arrested for burglary in Whatcom County, Washington. One of them had been babysitting in the house they robbed. She let the other two teens into the house and then “ran away” with the three children she was watching while her accomplices stole items from a list she had put together after scouting the house.
Of course, after that, the babysitter needed an alibi. So she called the cops and said two black guys, one with a gun and one with a knife had charged in the back door and told them to leave if they didn’t want to get hurt. In fact, she added to increase the seeming truth of her story, one of the guys looked a lot like the next door neighbor — 6’4″, athletic, and, of course, black.
So the police arrested Cody Oakes. The 25-year-old neighbor is an an operations manager for J.P. Morgan and the quarterback for the Bellingham Bulldogs, a semi-pro football team. As he walked out of his house to go to practice, he was handcuffed and walked to the nearby cruiser while a sniper kept his sight set on him from 25 yards away.
But then the babysitter’s story began to fall apart…
Why? Because she happened to be babysitting one of the most well-spoken 4-year-olds of all time. The thieves were white, young Abby told the police. And then everything started to fall into place…
The correct criminals were apprehended and Oakes was released with profuse apologies. He has handled the awful situation with impressive goodwill, saying…
I think it was racial profiling, but I don’t think it was racially charged.
My family and friends are more upset about it than I am. I’m just relieved. But I’m sad about it. Because I don’t think she realized what could have happened to me. I don’t think she realized the gravity of the situation.