White woman calls police on black property developer inspecting a house because 'he has no right to be in her neighborhood'

Yes, it's happened again. A white woman has called the police on a black person for doing something completely normal.

On 5 May, Michael Hayes, a real estate investor in Memphis, Tennessee, was inspecting a house he had just bought that was in need of repairs.

A white woman in the neighbourhood demanded to know why he was outside the property. He showed her an investment contract signed by the owner, an investment sign he'd placed in the property's garden, and a letter giving him permission to enter the property, but she was still suspicious and called the police.

Hayes decided to wait for the police, because he had all the correct documentation and wasn't in the wrong. He began to film the altercation, and he posted the footage to YouTube, which has now had nearly 1.5 million views.

In a refreshing twist to the now familiar formula, when the police arrive, they take Hayes' side. A white male officer says: "Unless I've got a victim, I can't prosecute."

A second neighbour approaches, and sides with Hayes and the police.

Michael Hayes / Youtube 

"If you have any more problems with her, what I want you to do is call me back over here," the male officer says. "And she will go to jail for that."

"Hurry up, do it and get out!" The woman shouts at Hayes.

The officers reply: "He can take all day."

Michael Hayes / Youtube

The incident comes hot on the heels of a spate of cases of white people calling the police on black people, who are doing day-to-day things.

In April, a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police on two black men for sitting in the cafe without buying anything.

Earlier this month, three black people were leaving an Airbnb when a neighbour called the police because she didn't recognise them; a white woman called the police on a black woman who had fallen asleep in her common room at Yale, and in April, a white woman called the police on a black family for having a BBQ by a lake.

More: A white woman called the police on a black family for having a BBQ by a lake

More: This black student decided to take a nap in a common room. The someone called the police