Should you just give your name?

It happened last January on one of the Skyways that connects the buildings in downtown St. Paul.

Chris Lollie, who is black, was in a lounge area outside the First National Bank building waiting for his kids when a security guard said he was in a private area and asked him to leave. Lollie said there was no sign saying “private” and refused. So the guard called the cops. And Lollie turned on his cellphone camera.

“That’s a public area,” Lollie can be heard saying. “The problem is I’m black, that’s the problem.”

Then backup shows up and he ends up getting Tased and arrested in front of his kids.

The trespassing charges were eventually dropped and when the police returned his phone, he posted the video. That was Friday. It has since collected close to 1.1 million views and over 4,000 comments – ranging from “sue the racist cop” to “just give your (bleeping) name next time.”

I am not black, but one time I was standing on a sidewalk outside my apartment waiting for a ride when a cop came up, said there had been a complaint about a suspicious person, and asked me for ID.

I was annoyed, but I gave it to him, and he went on his way. I figured it was my scruffy-looking beard, which I now keep trimmed. In my 62 years, that has happened to me exactly once.

I understand for some people it happens slightly more often, which might affect the way they react.