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A recent social experiment videotaped a pair of actors, one Black and the other white, attempting to break into a car in broad daylight in a busy commercial district. What was discovered is that cops largely ignored the white actor’s faux car theft attempt, but that all changed when the Black actor performed the same action.

The experiment was conducted by the folks over at Simple Misfits, who pull of pranks to get a certain reaction. In a video that’s since gone viral after going up just two days ago, the white gentleman is an what appears to be an affluent downtown area and he’s seen trying to use a jimmy tool to unlock a car.

As the car alarm blares, people stroll by without a care. At one point, a cop stops and takes notices but then drives off. According to the actor, he was trying to get into the car for a half hour without any intervention.

When the Black actor, who we learn is named Quinton, tries to jimmy the lock of the car, folks on the street take notice almost immediately. In a matter of minutes, police swarm on the man with one officer actually approaching the actor with his handgun drawn and cursing. Naturally, the cops throw the actor against the wall and arrest him on the spot.

Simple Misfits caught everything on tape, exposing what could be the very ugly reality that police officers in the incident reacted because of the race of the actor in question. According to Gawker, a Business Insider report from 2011 found that 64 percent of vehicle theft was committed by whites, while around 34 percent was committed by Black people.

What do you think of the Simple Misfits video showing the racial differences in car thefts? Let us know in the comments. Watch the video below.

Photo: YouTube