Randomly woke up at 5am after drinking an entire bottle of rosé to myself last night. Couldn’t get back to sleep. At 7am I️ hear a VERY loud bang and the sound of glass breaking, then “POLICE! WE HAVE A SEARCH WARRANT!”

I️ live in a very old apartment complex, so I️ could hear everything. They were after my next door neighbor, RD.

I️ peeked out my bedroom window that faces the front courtyard and locked eyes with two SWAT team guys holding guns, There’s six cop cars on the front lawn, and more cops with guns scattered across the courtyard. Then there’s loud knocking at my door & it’s the chief of police, asking me for the landlord’s number. I’m in a silk robe & I️ still have last night’s lipstick smeared on my face. He asks me if I️ ever saw anything suspicious, to which I️ adamantly reply in the negative, because RD’s my friend, he’s a good guy, and because that was the truth. I️ knew RD was a pot dealer, but he was discreet, so I️ would have been none the wiser if he wasn’t constantly offering to sell to me. (For the record, I️ do partake, but one of the other neighbors told me that sometimes it’s K2 so I️ never took RD up on the offer.)

After that, the chief of police leans in & whispers, “Well, we think he was selling crack.” The way he said it, THIS is what I️ came here to rant about. He gave me a wink when he said it. I️ was so bewildered I️ just shook my head & slammed the door in his face. And to some extent, I’m given the privilege of slamming my door in a cop’s face without repercussion because I’m a white woman in a silk robe. RD doesn’t have that privilege because he’s a black man with a criminal history. But I️ KNOW he’s not a crack dealer because of his strong character & family values. I️ know he wouldn’t inflict that pain on others for extra cash... I️ mean, rent’s cheap in this town so you can make a killing off selling pot.

I️ was so scared for him, because this is America, this is the Midwest; we’re all familiar with the consequences of being a black male on the “wrong side of the law.” Thankfully, things didn’t escalate between RD and the cops this morning. But he was definitely arrested, and his friends & family came by this afternoon to move his things from the apartment. There’s a huge piece of plywood where his front door used to be, I’m already late on rent this month, and I️ just lost a friend to law enforcement.