Patriots LB Details Strange Experience Where He Was Harassed by Police Because of His Race

Elandon Roberts isn't the most immediately-recognizable Patriot, and his NFL legacy certainly didn't do him any favors at a traffic stop in his hometown of Houston this offseason.

According to Roberts, he was pulled over just outside his home in a Houston suburb back in March, and dashcam footage reveals the confrontation got bizarre when one cop felt threatened by a “big, black man” (that's Roberts).

Roberts has now filed a complaint about the incident, which began with nine full minutes of the policeman prattling on nonsensically before even informing Roberts that he was being pulled over for speeding.

The officer can be heard speaking into his radio, saying, "I haven’t begun the traffic stop. The big black man got out of the car. I told him to get back in and he wouldn’t comply. I had to yell at him pretty hard.”

In a statement, Roberts tries to bridge the gap between the utterly irrational police force and the African-Americans who have to deal with such racially-charged indignation any day at any time.

“Unfortunately, these types of things are happening all too often to African Americans,” Roberts told USA Today. “People are becoming desensitized to them. Being harassed in your own yard simply because you are a 'big black man’ should never become the norm. To the person being harassed, it is frightening, disrespectful and embarrassing.