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Hopefully the police don't do this anymore. They used to. I witnessed it. And it was disturbing.
In 2008 I watched the Greenville PD stop and basically kidnap a man by force for no good reason other than he was homeless. This was apparently common, and locals advised that the police would just drop people off outside the city.
The FBI got involved and at least one cop was charged, maybe around 2010? The cop took a homeless man somewhere, then beat the crap out of him.
It's gotten better (by that I mean the cops don't just arrest people for existing), but my wife was involved in an incident where the police harassed then arrested a (black) man for... wait for it... talking to my (white) wife. Seriously. That was last year in Falls Park. The police said he was harassing people (namely, my wife), even though my wife told them he wasn't bothering her. It was a disturbing incident, and my wife still feels guilty for not having done more to stop the police harassment at the time, or following up on what happened to the man involved. It was a total overreach by the Greenville PD, and no doubt racist.
I've lived in Greenville for 12 years. I've never been harassed by police for being black. This is a little overreaching attempt to convince the visitor that the cops do racist stuff continuously. While I'm sure unfair things happen here just like anywhere else, I don't see it as a common issue here. They try very hard. I've even sit down and talked with the chief of police recently. Seems nice to me.
Yes, thank you so much for coming back with your very descriptive post and updating us. Glad you enjoyed Greenville. Happy I found that block party for you and all the suggestions that everyone posted were helpful. Come back again. There's plenty to do
One thing we did wonder this weekend while downtown is....when colleges are in session, is the crowd different on main street? Certainly seemed to be a little older, family oriented on this trip (which is just fine) but we were wondering what it'd be like on a Saturday evening in October when the local colleges are back in.
I've been going downtown Greenville since 1996 and I've never witnessed police officers randomly harassing and arresting black people.
Sad to say I've seen what seemed to me to be harrassment a few times - not necessarily just African-Americans but people who might be homeless or just often on the street. But maybe not for a couple of years?
All my interactions with Greenville city police have been positive, but the city also has historically guarded downtown pretty strongly. Haven't heard anything for a while but the downtown curfew on teenagers always rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed to me like collective punishment for the sins of a few.
One thing we did wonder this weekend while downtown is....when colleges are in session, is the crowd different on main street? Certainly seemed to be a little older, family oriented on this trip (which is just fine) but we were wondering what it'd be like on a Saturday evening in October when the local colleges are back in.
If you came this past weekend, I know a lot of people were out of town due to the holiday.
Hopefully the police don't do this anymore. They used to. I witnessed it. And it was disturbing.
In 2008 I watched the Greenville PD stop and basically kidnap a man by force for no good reason other than he was homeless. This was apparently common, and locals advised that the police would just drop people off outside the city.
The FBI got involved and at least one cop was charged, maybe around 2010? The cop took a homeless man somewhere, then beat the crap out of him.
It's gotten better (by that I mean the cops don't just arrest people for existing), but my wife was involved in an incident where the police harassed then arrested a (black) man for... wait for it... talking to my (white) wife. Seriously. That was last year in Falls Park. The police said he was harassing people (namely, my wife), even though my wife told them he wasn't bothering her. It was a disturbing incident, and my wife still feels guilty for not having done more to stop the police harassment at the time, or following up on what happened to the man involved. It was a total overreach by the Greenville PD, and no doubt racist.
Source? I don't remember this at all. Oh and maybe the homeless guy was panhandling which is illegal.
Source? I don't remember this at all. Oh and maybe the homeless guy was panhandling which is illegal.
I couldn't find reference to panhandling being explicitly mentioned illegal in the city's municipal code - only molesting / disturbing passerby's is illegal.
Having very few or no panhandlers and no hustlers downtown is part of the uniqueness, considering the number of visitors.
One thing we did wonder this weekend while downtown is....when colleges are in session, is the crowd different on main street? Certainly seemed to be a little older, family oriented on this trip (which is just fine) but we were wondering what it'd be like on a Saturday evening in October when the local colleges are back in.
The crowd downtown is wonderful in that it's very diverse. Young and old. The later it gets, the younger it gets.
Source? I don't remember this at all. Oh and maybe the homeless guy was panhandling which is illegal.
Milliman admitted in court that on consecutive days in September 2009, he assaulted homeless individuals whom he and other officers had just arrested, handcuffed, and secured in a patrol car. In the first incident, Milliman entered the backseat of the patrol car where the handcuffed man was sitting alone, and struck him in the face with his forearm after the man yelled out, busting the man’s lip. In the second incident, Milliman entered the backseat of the patrol car where a deaf-mute homeless individual was handcuffed and secured. Milliman poked the man with an ink pen, making the man audible a sound that Milliman found amusing. He poked him again so that nearby officers would hear the sound. Milliman then poured a hand sanitizing liquid on the man’s head. Another officer later wiped the liquid off the man’s head before he was transported to jail. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/co...0/co042110.htm
The incident I witnessed was disturbing in how violent they put the man in the police car, in how the officers seemed to be enjoying it, and that it was in broad daylight in the middle of the day.
I do think things have improved in recent years, even with the incident with my wife last year.
When I walk downtown at lunch during the week, I probably get approached by someone for money about 1 in 4 times. I always see people I assume are homeless and I'm fine with that.
It's better than living in a city where it's most vulnerable people are treated so horribly by (some of) the police.
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Glad you enjoyed Greenville. Happy I found that block party for you and all the suggestions that everyone posted were helpful. Come back again. There's plenty to do 
