A reporter and photojournalist in Dallas, Texas, became part of the story after she and a news photographer were reported to police because an unidentified person thought they looked suspicious:
Homa Bash brought the incident to light on 12 October 2016, when she posted a picture of herself and photographer C.J. Johnson on Twitter and said they were described as a "Hispanic-looking woman & black man with a suspicious white truck & camera" while reporting a story for KXAS-TV in the Texas suburb of Plano:
When you get the cops called because a 'Hispanic-looking woman & black man with a suspicious white truck & camera' are near a school ? pic.twitter.com/6wuMmXzliV
— Homa Bash (@HomaBashNBC5) October 12, 2016
As of 15 October 2016, that image had been retweeted nearly 67,000 times and "liked" by more than 129,000 users.
Bash quickly followed up by saying that local police did not cite either her or Johnson, and police were similarly stumped as to why the pair aroused suspicion:
@baldwinreports I did too! The cop was like 'so.. you're marked in every way.. not sure what was confusing for them here..'
— Homa Bash (@HomaBashNBC5) October 12, 2016
Bash (a native Oklahoman who is Indian-American) and Johnson subsequently filed the story they were working on at the time, which concerned a proposed ban on non-service dogs at Plano schools.
Local police said that the officer who met with the two journalists "immediately recognized" that they were not suspicious. Police also said that officers had responded to similar calls in the past involving a white television reporter who worked in the area.
We have reached out to Bash and her station for comment.