Houston Man Arrested and Attacked by Police Dog for Mowing Lawns While Black

Marlin Gipson was arrested after trying to distribute cards for his lawn mowing business in Houston

 Many college students work during the summer for extra cash. Marlin Gipson, of Houston, Texas, is no exception. The 20-year-old student has a side business mowing lawns in his neighborhood. Now, as anyone who owns their own business can attest to, advertising is key to getting customers. So Gipson was with his brother, working on building his client base by placing his business card in the doors of homes when he was stopped by a police officer. That’s when he was harassed by the officer, which he caught on tape.

In the video he uploaded to the Internet, the deputy can be seen asking for Gipson’s ID and asking what he was doing in the neighborhood. Gipson is heard telling the deputy he did not have ID. He then gives his name, stating he was 19 years old and born in 1999. In reality, Gipson is 20 and born in 1996.

According to Texas law, what Gipson did is not an offense. What is considered an offense is to refuse to give your name, date of birth, and address when you are under arrest. He was not under arrest at the time. And how is it a crime to place your business card in the door of a home when you are trying to solicit business—especially when you have actual business cards on you to back up your story?

At best, if the police officer thought they were suspicious, he could have told Gipson and his brother to stop what they were doing and keep it moving. But the officer wasn’t satisfied—especially after Gipson asked for his name. That’s when the situation escalated, and ended at Gipson’s home with him under arrest. 

The actual arrest isn’t being released on video (the police say body cams recorded the whole thing) but what isn’t being disputed by either side is that during the arrest, the police used the K9 unit and tasers to bring Gipson into custody.

The viral video also captures Gipson attempting to get the deputy’s name. Later on in the video, Gipson is shown at his own home, where deputies then tried to arrest him. [...]

“His right arm was being mauled by a K9 unit. While he was being mauled by a K9 unit, he was shot a second time with a Taser, then placed in handcuffs all the while being fully compliant,” said Merritt, a Philadelphia based attorney representing Gipson. “That’s excessive force under any circumstances.”

It’s hard to imagine what happened that would provoke police to sic a canine on a 20-year-old at his home after a misunderstanding about a lawn mowing business. The police say that Gipson had an outstanding warrant (which he did not). Whether or not that’s true, there is something to be said here for the force they use to take suspects into custody and who gets the benefit of the doubt from the beginning.

It goes without saying that white college students mowing lawns and distributing business cards would not receive such treatment. Gipson’s story, of course, differs dramatically from the police officers’—including being knocked off of his mower and being called the n-word. But the cops say that this has nothing to do with race— as if we have no evidence that there are racial disparities in policing. In fact, the local constable “proves” this by showing that there are many minorities working for the police department, some of whom were involved in the arrest of Gipson. 

On Wednesday afternoon, [Constable Alan Rosen] brought out at least half a dozen deputies involved in the arrest of Gipson. Rosen pointed out the majority of the deputies were either African-American or Latino. Rosen said he has reviewed the video, and do not believe his deputies did anything wrong, and that Gipson was not being targeted because of his race.

“We have one of the most diverse offices in Harris County. It really incenses me that somebody says they were targeted because of their race. I love our minority community, I work hard to gain trust of our minority community,” Rosen said.

Why it took six deputies to arrest Gipson is unclear. And Rosen obviously doesn’t understand how structural racism works because it makes not one bit of difference what color the arresting officers were: people of color are not immune to participating in racist structures and behavior against their own. In fact, that’s how white supremacy continues to thrive.

Black and brown cops participate in oppression all the time. That’s what the system is designed to do. These instances are not about individuals—they are about groups and structures. That’s exactly why white people can be given the benefit of the doubt and not be killed by police at the same rates (respective to their presence in the population) as blacks and brown folk. 

This case is still ongoing and Gipson has obtained a lawyer and filed a formal complaint with Internal Affairs. But this incident adds a new category to list. While it’s already been established that it’s dangerous to drive and walk while black, apparently it’s dangerous to mow while black, too.