'ID Adam': Man who questioned black woman's right to use pool loses job

Alma McCarty | WFMY News Digital

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina man has lost his day job and pool chairmanship after an allegedly racially charged incident recorded on a cellphone Wednesday went viral.

The Winston-Salem Police Department confirmed they received a "disturbance" call on July 4 around 1:21 pm at the Glenridge Community Swimming Pool. The caller identified himself as Adam Bloom and said he was the chairman of the pool, according to the police report.

Officers spoke with Bloom who said he was concerned that a woman identified as Jasmine Abhulimen was using the pool without authorization to do so.

The responding officers determined during their investigation that Abhulimen did have proper access via her pool access card. The officers said no crime was committed.

Abhulimen recorded the incident on her cellphone and the video has since received national and international attention. She accused Bloom of racial profiling and said in the video that she was the only one asked to show ID.

John Vermitsky, Adam Bloom's attorney, told the Winston-Salem Journal that Bloom confronted Abhulimen after speaking with another board member and learning of a possible discrepancy with Abhulimen's address.

Bloom's job as pool chair included removing people from the pool who were not authorized to be there. He did so several times a year, and people who have been removed include a variety of ages and races, Vermitsky told the paper.

Eric Ellison, Abhulimen’s attorney, issued a statement Friday saying Abhulimen "was the target of racial profiling" and that “this incident was traumatizing to Mrs. Abhulimen and her entire family."

The Homeowners Associated released this statement to WFMY News 2 about the incident:

The following statement was issued to the residents of Glenridge. Dear Neighbors, We sincerely regret that an incident occurred yesterday at our community pool that left neighbors feeling racially profiled. In confronting and calling the police on one of our neighbors, the pool chair escalated a situation in a way that does not reflect the inclusive values Glenridge seeks to uphold as a community. Our HOA Board has accepted his resignation as pool chair and a board member, effective immediately. We also have re-instituted a sign-in sheet at the pool to make sure no resident feels singled out again. And, in the coming days, we will take additional steps to ensure consistent and equitable application of our pool policies and procedures. We apologize to our neighbors who were directly hurt by these actions, and we hope that everyone in Glenridge will join us in redoubling our efforts to care for and support all of our neighbors during this difficult time. Sincerely, Glenridge HOA

The company that Adam Bloom worked for, Sonoco Products, released a statement saying he was no longer an employee there.

We are aware of a terrible incident involving the actions of one our employees outside of the workplace, and we have released this statement. pic.twitter.com/vl8Vk4ykoc — Sonoco (@Sonoco_Products) July 6, 2018

Many on social media have labeled Bloom "ID Adam" in the wake of the incident.

Other people who have been accused racial profiling have been similarly labeled on social media, including Permit Patty and Pool Patrol Paula.

Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY