A black Oakland firefighter said he was the victim of racial profiling when a white city police officer kept his hand on his gun while temporarily detaining him and his two sons at a fire station, mistakenly believing he might be a burglar.

The Aug. 15 incident traumatized his sons, said fire Engineer Keith Jones, 43, of Oakland, who filed a formal complaint with police internal affairs and the Citizens’ Police Review Board.

“I do feel racism played a part in this case, just by the treatment of my kids,” Jones said Wednesday. “He was in the same crouched position, ready to pull his gun.”

But Oakland police officials said the officer’s response was “within policy,” and they released a video from the officer’s city-issued chest camera that appeared to contradict some of Jones’ account.

In the video, Jones can be heard telling the officer, “I respect what you’re doing” and, “It’s not a problem.”

The incident happened at 10:45 p.m. Aug. 15 as Jones and his sons, ages 9 and 12, returned from a Raiders game at the Coliseum. While driving past Station 29 at 1016 66th Ave. in East Oakland, Jones, who is based at another station, noticed the garage doors were open and decided to close them.

Oakland police officials said the Fire Department had contacted police that night, asking if an officer could check the station’s doors because they might have been accidentally left open by firefighters who responded to a call.

A police service technician arrived first, found the door open, saw two boys inside and asked for support from officers.

When the officer arrived, he approached Jones’ children and, according to the video, said, “Put your hand up, turn around.” One boy can be heard crying.

Jones said, “His demeanor and everything, and the way he was in the crouch position, his face, he was ready to pull his weapon during the whole time of the communication.”

Jones, a 16-year firefighter for the city, told the officer who he was. The officer had him slowly take out his identification while keeping his hands visible, then verified he was a firefighter.

Jones said the standoff could have ended earlier had the officer had listened to him. He said he believes the fact that he is African American and the officer was white was a factor.

The officer, who was not identified by police officials, can be heard on the video apologizing to Jones and his children.

“I’m sorry for the scare,” the officer said.

“No problem,” Jones replied.

In a statement Wednesday, Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent said, “The video footage allows the community to see the events as they occurred. The officers clearly acted within policy. We continue to be committed to transparency.”

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