Black man reaches cops to clear his name after being accused of phone theft. He can’t believe what they tell him: ‘So, my word doesn’t count?’

Being falsely accused of stealing is bad enough. But for one Black man in Canada, clearing up the accusation didn’t end his problems. When he tried to tell police what happened to him, things took another turn.

Sometimes, video can make a major difference when someone’s account is questioned. In Dhextrus’ case, police said they did not have video evidence of the alleged assault. What they told him next made him question whether his own word mattered.

According to Atlanta Black Star, a woman in Vancouver falsely accused Dhextrus of stealing her phone before another man allegedly attacked him. Dhextrus called police to report the alleged assault, and the phone accusation was eventually cleared up. But getting police to act on his own allegation became the bigger issue.

So whose word was enough?

The incident reportedly happened outside a convenience store gas station in Vancouver. Dhextrus claims that after the woman accused him of stealing her phone, a South Asian man stepped in and struck him. He later told officers that his arm had been hit so hard that he could no longer feel it.

At least four officers reportedly responded after Dhextrus called police to report the alleged assault. Once the phone theft accusation was cleared up, he wanted officers to take action against the man he accused of hitting him. However, police pointed to the lack of video evidence.

That response didn’t sit well with Dhextrus. In a video of the exchange, he asked an officer, “So my word doesn’t count?”

“It doesn’t count for evidence, no. It would count as backing if we had some video evidence of it, for sure,” the supervising officer responded. “But we don’t…so it’s an allegation.”

In Canada, private citizens do not decide whether criminal charges are laid, and video evidence is not a legal prerequisite for an assault allegation to move forward. Witness testimony can also be considered evidence, meaning the absence of video alone does not necessarily prevent authorities from pursuing an allegation. 

Dhextrus then asked officers to check security footage from nearby businesses. According to the report, officers declined to do so. But the explanation that followed raised another question about the evidence they were willing to consider.

Police reportedly told Dhextrus that third-party witnesses had said the assault did not happen. That distinction caught viewers’ attention. If Dhextrus’ account wasn’t enough without video, why could other people’s accounts apparently be used against his allegation?

One viewer put the contradiction this way: “He literally said your word doesn’t count as evidence, but then goes on to rely on third parties saying you weren’t assaulted…If your account is dismissed because it’s ‘just your word,’ then why should their accounts be treated differently?”

Dhextrus also questioned whether race played a role in how his complaint was handled. “I feel this is very unfair and it’s because I am a Black person,” he told the officer. “I know it, if I was a white person, you guys would press charges…. I know that for a fact. If I were an Indian or a white person, it wouldn’t be the way it’s going now.”

The officer responded, “So I just got yelled at by another Black person and a South Asian person.” “I’m not yelling, I’m just upset,” Dhextrus replied. “It’s not fair. This is not fair.”

Dhextrus’ belief that race affected the response remains his allegation, and the videos alone do not establish why officers decided not to pursue the assault allegation. Still, his concerns about being treated with suspicion speak to a larger issue other Black people have raised during encounters with police: whether they are being given the same trust and consideration as everyone else. 

Viewers urged Dhextrus to file a police report and request surveillance footage. But the interaction left one question hanging over the encounter: If his account wasn’t enough on its own, why did other witnesses’ words seem to carry more weight?

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