Racist Cop Harasses Black Man — Freezes When He Learns He’s a Federal Judge
For Judge William Matthew, the afternoons at Riverside Park were as routine as the sky was blue. Every weekday at 2:45 p.m., he would sit on the same iron bench under a grand oak tree, writing in his journal, and waiting for his daughter, Maya, to finish school. It was his way of staying connected to her, even on the busiest of days. He had been doing it for years — a simple, peaceful practice. To everyone who saw him, he was just another father in the park, enjoying a quiet moment before the school bell rang.
On this particular day, however, everything changed.
A call was made to the police. The dispatcher received a report of a “suspicious person” sitting in the park. The caller, later identified as a local resident, gave only a vague description: a “black male” in a hoodie, sitting near the school. No crime, no threat, just the assumption that a black man sitting alone near a school must be up to something.
At 2:47 p.m., Officer Derek Sloan of the Riverside Police Department arrived at the scene. Sloan, young and eager to prove himself, approached the man on the bench without hesitation. He had no reason to suspect anything, no clear signs of criminal activity, but the call had been made, and he was going to follow through.
The Confrontation: “You Are Violating My Rights”
As Officer Sloan approached, Judge Matthew, who had been quietly writing, looked up. His calm demeanor, typical for someone who had spent decades in the judicial system, remained unshaken. The officer, without any real explanation, demanded that the judge provide identification.
“This is harassment,” Judge Matthew calmly responded. “I’m just sitting here writing in my notebook. You have no right to stop me.”
But Officer Sloan wasn’t listening. The young officer, already on edge and unwilling to de-escalate, demanded again that Judge Matthew turn around and put his hands behind his back. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back now,” Sloan ordered, escalating the situation without cause.
Judge Matthew, aware of his rights, asked again, “Am I being detained?” and when Sloan failed to respond, he calmly asserted, “I’m sitting in a public park. I’m not doing anything illegal.”
But for Officer Sloan, none of that mattered. This was no longer a simple inquiry. It was about control. Sloan’s tone grew sharper, as if his authority was being challenged by a man who wasn’t reacting the way he expected. In that moment, Sloan decided the man before him wasn’t just a father — he was a target.
The officer ignored the judge’s calm insistence and moved to arrest him, simply because he refused to comply with an unlawful order. The handcuffs clicked into place, and a small crowd of bystanders began to take notice.
The Moment That Changed Everything
As Judge Matthew was placed in handcuffs, the scene at Riverside Park grew tense. Phones came out, and voices started to murmur. People who had known the man sitting on the bench for years suddenly stopped in their tracks, confused and upset by the situation unfolding before them.
A mother pushing a stroller, a jogger, even a young teenager stopped and watched in disbelief. Judge Matthew wasn’t just any man; he was a respected federal judge. And yet, here he was, handcuffed, accused of nothing more than sitting peacefully in a public space.
When Officer Sloan tried to justify his actions, he said, “People lie to cops all the time, and judges don’t.” The words echoed the underlying assumption of many in law enforcement — that someone who looked like Matthew didn’t belong in that park, that a black man in a hoodie must be doing something wrong.
But Judge Matthew, unwavering in his composure, responded with the calm authority that had guided him through decades of judicial experience: “You’re violating my rights, and it’s all on that camera.”
He pointed toward the security camera mounted above the light pole, knowing full well that everything was being recorded.
The Officer’s Realization: “I Didn’t Know”
As the handcuffs clicked into place, the reality of the situation slowly began to dawn on Officer Sloan. His certainty began to falter as the crowd’s attention grew more intense, the phones recording every moment. When Judge Matthew, now in full possession of his composure, revealed his identity, Officer Sloan was momentarily stunned.
“I am a federal judge,” Judge Matthew stated calmly. “My name is William Matthew, United States District Judge, Northern District of Georgia. You can verify it with one phone call.”
Sloan, unsure of what to make of this new information, simply replied with skepticism, “Right. A federal judge, sure.”
But then, the moment of reckoning arrived. “Call the school. Call the courthouse. Call anyone you like,” Judge Matthew calmly insisted, his eyes steady. “You’ll find out I’m telling the truth.”
Still, Officer Sloan didn’t move to verify the judge’s claim. Instead, he leaned in, still dismissing the information. “I think you’re someone who got caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing,” Sloan muttered, clinging to his preconceived assumptions. But Judge Matthew was unwavering, and this was no longer about who he was—it was about what the officer believed.
The Tipping Point: The Officer’s Mistake
The moment the officer placed his hands on Judge Matthew, the dynamic between them shifted irrevocably. It was no longer about a public servant trying to do his job; it was about the systemic bias that led to this wrongful arrest. The officer’s refusal to believe that a black man could be a federal judge was not just a mistake—it was a breach of trust and an abuse of power.
When backup arrived, Sergeant Diane Crawford, a 22-year veteran of the force, immediately assessed the situation. She knew what had happened. “Officer Sloan, remove the handcuffs now,” she ordered. It was a simple, direct command, and Sloan had no choice but to obey.
“Lieutenant,” Crawford said to her superior, “this is a federal judge.”
The realization hit like a cold slap. Officer Sloan’s face drained of color. The carefully constructed narrative he had built for himself—his justification for the arrest—collapsed in an instant. He had arrested a man whose life and career were built on understanding and defending the very rights he had violated.
The Aftermath: Legal Repercussions
The aftermath of the arrest quickly escalated into a much larger issue. The footage from the body camera, combined with the eyewitness accounts, became key evidence in a growing civil rights lawsuit. Internal affairs launched an immediate investigation into Officer Sloan’s conduct, and it didn’t take long for the entire department to realize the gravity of the mistake.
The public outcry was swift and unforgiving. What had started as a routine encounter between an officer and a civilian had exploded into a national conversation about racial profiling, police misconduct, and the abuse of power. Officer Sloan, once eager to prove his worth, now found himself under investigation, his career hanging by a thread.
Meanwhile, Judge Matthew, though deeply humiliated by the encounter, used his position to seek justice—not just for himself, but for every individual who had ever been wrongfully detained or harassed by law enforcement. He filed a lawsuit, demanding accountability, and the city quickly realized the costs of this unlawful arrest. In a settlement that sent shockwaves through the legal system, the city agreed to pay $1.3 million to Judge Matthew, a settlement he chose to donate to civil rights organizations dedicated to fighting racial profiling and police misconduct.
A Moment of Justice
Judge Matthew’s lawsuit, along with the public support he garnered, resulted in systemic changes within the department. Officer Sloan was placed on administrative leave and later terminated. The department enacted mandatory training on racial bias, police misconduct, and constitutional policing, and the city initiated a comprehensive review of its policing practices.
For Judge Matthew, the road to justice was long, but his calm determination, combined with the support of the community, led to meaningful change. What had begun as a simple, peaceful act of waiting for his daughter became a defining moment in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism.
And so, every day at 2:45 p.m., Judge Matthew still goes to Riverside Park. He sits on the same bench, under the same oak tree, with his leatherbound journal in hand, waiting for his daughter. He knows that while the scars of that day may never fade, his actions—quiet but determined—are what will change the world around him.
