Even knowing I'd never get a straight answer, I pointedly asked whether I had been detained because I was African American or whether I looked Middle Eastern. The officers just smiled wryly.This is the kind of busybody that ties up the police with unnecessary work while inconveniencing honest citizens.A Park Police detective would later say that "a tourist" had reported me to police. As soon as I heard that, I knew which one it was. I recalled that as I began photographing the metal box, a woman pulled out her cell phone and began keeping a not-so-discreet eye on me.
It brings memories of the lady who claimed that three Middle Eastern men were speaking in English about blowing up something in Florida. Finally, it was revealed that they were med students, and all the brouhaha about running a Florida toll was media hype.
You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't.