‘Very Anti-Police’ Black Activist Robbed at Gunpoint–and Guess Who He Calls for Help
Dave Urbanski, The Blaze, August 8, 2016
Black activist Ali Muhammad has become known in the Tampa area for speaking out against police violence and ending black crime.
And make no mistake: “I’m very anti-police,” he told WTVT-TV.
But Muhammad recently was granted a whole new perspective on what goes into law enforcement and the good that can come out of it.
He was robbed at gunpoint over the last weekend in July–a victim of black-on-black crime, the station said–and quickly called 911.
Following his gig as a DJ at a Ybor City club, Muhammad was walking down a street about 3 a.m. when he told WTVT “a young black male . . . just came up to me and said, ‘Give me your earrings and your backpack.’”
The thief grabbed what he wanted–although not Muhammad’s cellphone, which he used to call 911. Within 10 minutes, Tampa police were on the hunt for the shirtless perp.
Muhammad said during the 911 call he told the dispatcher that he was following the suspect down the street from a distance, WTVT noted, but the dispatcher told him to stop.
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Soon police spotted 18-year-old Antwan Robertson, chased him to a parking lot and corralled him behind a dumpster.
And besides getting back his jewelry and backpack–where his laptop and ID were stored–Muhammad has a new appreciation for police.
“I congratulated the police,” Muhammad told WTVT, adding that while he’s “very anti-police” he’s “not against police relations and community relations.”
“Police can be hostile and very belligerent,” he added to the station. “Friday night, I met some officers who [were] about business, and that was getting a bad guy off the street.”
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WTVT added that while Muhammad was referred to in its story as a leader in the local New Black Panther Party chapter, the organization told the station after publication that Muhammad doesn’t hold a leadership position.
