Man says he was racially profiled while walking with son in Highland Creek neighborhood

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A family says they don't feel welcome in their own neighborhood after cops were called on a young man walking his baby to the park. 

FOX 46 spoke to the family, who says the man was only guilty of walking while black.

"This is my first time walking my son. For me to walk my son to the park and get the police called on me for walking my son to the park is devastating to me."

22-year-old DeAnthony Jones took his 2-month-old son out for a walk to the park in their Highland Creek neighborhood around 2:00 p.m. on Monday.

While he was out, a neighbor posted on Nextdoor that a suspicious man was pushing a stroller and she called police.

"It was about three police cars in the neighborhood. I [saw] them going in different directions,” Jones said. 

Jones' mother-in-law, Jessica Freeman, saw him leaving on her Ring camera and immediately knew he was the person reported on Nextdoor. She replied back, saying he was caught "walking while black."

"I posted like ‘that's my grandson,’ they're like ‘well call the police,’ and I’m like ‘why would you call the police? You're putting my grandson at risk, you're putting his dad at risk because police don't know that he's not a bad guy,’” Freeman said. 

The post said Jones was wearing dark clothing, but he says he was wearing his khaki work pants, blue shirt, company hat and a Panther's scarf. 

"They kept saying his face is covered and I’m like ‘he has a scarf on it's cool outside,’" said Freeman.

He says police didn't question him, but the whole ordeal has left him feeling degraded and afraid to walk the neighborhood. 

"You shamed me, my character, I feel unsafe walking around the neighborhood now and you may have felt unsafe, but you really made me feel unsafe,” Jones said. 

Freeman says calls like this are overly suspicious, racially motivated and make the neighborhood less safe because they're a waste of police resources. Several commenters on the post agreed with her.