But the change may not be happening
quickly enough to save today’s protest
ers from years of setbacks.
On the afternOOn of June 2, San
didge took his homemade sign and
joined dozens of demonstrators at the
Soldiers and Sailors Monument in
downtown Indianapolis. He left for a
while, then decided to return with a
friend at about 10 p.m. As he got near
the rally after parking his car, Sandidge
says, he heard shouts and saw figures
charging toward him in the dark. He
says he ran, not knowing the figures
were police.
According to a probable cause affi
davit obtained by TIME, police said
they spotted Sandidge and another
man trying to duck behind flower beds.
The men began running as one officer
shouted, “Stop. Police,” sparking a foot
chase that ended with the two being
captured and handcuffed.
The county prosecutor cleared
more than 100 people arrested that
first weekend in June for nonviolent
offenses. But because police allege
Sandidge had been trying to reach into
his bag, possibly for a weapon, before he
was apprehended, a spokesman for the
prosecutor’s office told TIME his charge
was warranted. He declined to comment
further on the case. Sandidge denies
trying to get into his bag and says he had
no intention of using anything inside
it as a weapon. The spray was sealed,
and the taser was in a secured pouch,
says Sandidge. Indiana law permits the
carrying of both without a permit.
“For me to be another statistic, it ter
rifies me,” Sandidge says of his arrest.
“I’ve never, never, never had to worry
about having anxiety or fear, because
I’ve always had a clean track record.”
After a little over 24 hours in
jail, Sandidge was released a few
hours before he was due to attend an
orientation for a new job at a security
company. Because he was concerned
about being exposed to COVID 19
and because his wallet, which had his
driver’s license, had been confiscated
and not yet returned, Sandidge missed
the orientation. The company offered
him the option of completing his
training online instead, but Sandidge
says he was too preoccupied and felt
his life was too much “in shambles” to
continue pursuing the job. “I was just
going through so much mentally that I
wouldn’t have been any good to anyone
in a work environment,” he says.
Sandidge’s first court appearance
is scheduled for Sept. 16. Until then,
all he can do is wait. If he applies for a
job now, his pending criminal case may
hinder his chances. He’s filled with
fear thinking about the outcome of his
case, his next possible encounter with
police and whether he has sabotaged
his future, derailing his plan of saving
enough money to afford college. “It did
something different to me,” he says of
his arrest. “It changed me.” □
◁
People arrested in Houston during a
protest on June 2 wait to board a bus
for the Harris County jail
SERGIO FLORES—GETTY IMAGES
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