Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty
A black former Obama administration staffer says he was questioned by New York City police over the weekend after being falsely labeled a burglar while trying to move into his new apartment. Darren Martin, a former associate director at the federal Office of Legislative Affairs, warned Tuesday that “profiling could have real consequences” after his run-in with police on the Upper West Side late Friday. Darren, who now serves as special assistant to the commissioner for the New York City Department of Social Services, said he was carrying his belongings into his new apartment when police arrived. “[Three] officers hop out, demand I let them in the building, and proceed to question me,” Martin tweeted under the hashtag #MovingWhileBlack. After explaining that he was moving in, he said, the officers proceeded to “rush in and corner me” while other officers went up to “‘investigate’—unlawfully entering my apartment, pulling my friend out of the shower, and questioning him.” Martin said he later learned a neighbor had called 911 claiming he was “trying to break in.” Apart from dealing with the police, he said, “the next & lingering pit in my stomach came from how my neighbors viewed me. Call the police on this black man who DEFINITELY doesn’t live here. The man who worked for President Obama and now serves his fellow New Yorkers.”