Protesters demand answers at T-Mobile store where black men were held at gunpoint by police

Protesters demand answers at T-Mobile store where black men were held at gunpoint by police

The man seen on video being held at gunpoint by Fresno police last month after workers at a T-Mobile store reported he might be a robber returned Friday to join a small protest demanding answers and an apology.

It was Dorian Johnson’s first time back inside the store since he and his uncle were detained. The Facebook video that made national headlines in June shows Johnson, 26, as he crawls across the cement outside the T-Mobile store on his stomach, obeying officers’ orders. At least one of the officers is pointing a gun at Johnson.

The video, shot by Johnson’s uncle, Vincent Lemar, cuts out after police order Lemar to come out of the store with his hands up, but the audio is still on. Johnson’s girlfriend can be heard screaming from the parking lot.

Ultimately, both men were cuffed, but no arrests were made. Lemar later commended the officers for their conduct, saying they were merely responding to what was reported as a robbery in progress on June 25.

Johnson held his daughter Friday as he, organizer Rev. Floyd Harris and about a dozen others protested outside the store at 5110 N. Blackstone Avenue. They say T-Mobile store workers racially profiled Johnson and his uncle, who are both black. They acknowledge that one of the store workers present June 25 is a man of color.