Black jogger detained for matching suspect description offered job with sheriff's office
A black jogger who matched the description of a recent burglary suspect and was detained by sheriff's deputies last month in Florida has been offered a job by the same department that detained him.
Bodycam footage released by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office shows Joseph Griffin, a black registered nurse and military veteran, out jogging on Aug. 27 when he was approached by a deputy.
The officer told him he matched the description of a recent burglary suspect — a black male with a white tank top, dark shorts, and a beard — and assured him multiple times that he was not under arrest.
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“You’re not in any trouble or anything. There was a burglary that happened, you kind of fit the description. Let me just make sure you’re not him, OK,” an officer told Griffin.
The full video from the officer’s body camera shows the officer's approach, conversation and departure.
The last minute of the video shows the actual suspect, not Griffin, being arrested.
WTSP, also known as local television news channel 10 Tampa Bay, told The Christian Post that the bodycam footage it obtained was verified by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
“I’m gonna detain you. Look, you're not under arrest. I'm detaining you right now because you fit the description,” a deputy told Griffin as his hands were cuffed behind his back.
Griffin can be seen in the recording starting a Facebook Live video, capturing the scene and telling the officer: “I just had a daughter born two days ago, so just have this on Live."
While Griffin was being handcuffed, he looked at his phone on the ground and said, “If something happens to me, y’all better raise Hell,” addressing those who were watching the video.
Today, while jogging in my neighborhood; I “fit the description”... I remained compliant and the situation was not escalated... @nursej504
Posted by Joseph Griffin on Thursday, August 27, 2020
Griffin was compliant the entire time, as the officer assured him that he was not being arrested but detained while they use his identification card to verify whether he was involved in the burglary.
While Griffin was released without arrest or conflict, he told Orlando’s Fox 35 that his experience was unnerving.
“Witnesses' descriptions are never perfect, and it is very scary when your future is in the hands of that nonperfect identification and description,” he said. “When you see your neighbor get pulled over and talk to the cops, perception is reality at that point, and you’re gonna automatically assume that they’re doing something.”
Griffin served as military police in the U.S. Army and was offered a job with the Volusia County Sheriff's office after the event took place. He declined the offer since he has a job in healthcare already.
In a tweet thread Saturday, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood acknowledged how both parties were cooperative and professional during the interaction. The sheriff also announced that Griffin will be participating in implicit bias training with the department.
"Joseph Griffin is going to come out and join us during implicit bias training, and tell this story from his perspective,” Chitwood tweeted. “I think we can all learn from his point of view, just like he has listened to ours. 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."
Chitwood added that he is proud of the way his deputies handled the situation.
“Granted, nothing like Facebook Live existed when I was starting out, but I don’t know if a young Mike Chitwood would have kept a live video running for somebody I was detaining,” the sheriff explained. “These guys did it because, in that moment, they understood what it meant to Mr. Griffin, who was going out of his way to be cooperative and respectful."
