When Cleon Jones first heard about George Floyd's killing by police, he was transported back to Mobile, Alabama, in 1977. The former Mets outfielder was driving home while his wife, Angela, was doing so in another car. She made it home safely. Jones was stopped by a white police officer who claimed his turn signal was broken.
“Thank you officer, but I didn't know it wasn't working,” Jones said.
“Where's your license?” the officer asked.
“In the other car,” Jones told him.
“OK. Hold on a minute,” the officer said.
“I waited and waited and waited until finally I asked, ‘What's going on? How long do you want me to wait?' A couple of seconds later, more police vehicles showed up and another officer approached me,” Jones said.
“We're going to whoop your ass,” the officer said.
Moments later, a brawl ensued. Jones, a year after he retired from baseball, wrestled with police officers on the ground in his own neighborhood when suddenly, he was hit with a club.
“Finally, my mind said get away from here,” Jones recalled in a phone conversation with the Daily News. “I was right in front of my place of business at that time, so I ran around the block.”
Except, that didn't work. The police trailed Jones and soon, began beating him up again. His neighbors came out of their homes and started shouting Jones' name. Eventually, the officers stopped.
“They didn't realize who I was at the time,” Jones said. “When people started calling my name, the white officers realized they picked the wrong individual. And this happened in 1977! God knows what happened before then, because I know for a fact it happened to other folks.”
