Facebook Adam Blook aka ID Adam or Pool Patrol Paul
Adam Bloom, dubbed “Pool Patrol Paul,” “Poolside Peter,” and “ID Adam” is the latest person captured in a viral video who has been accused of racism. Bloom called the police at his local pool after his neighbor, Jasmine Edwards, wouldn’t show him her ID. She said that she wasn’t required to show an ID and had used her pool gate card to get through the pool gate. He has lost his job since the video surfaced and resigned his position with the HOA.
1. Adam Bloom Called the Police After Jasmine Edwards Wouldn’t Show Him Her ID at the Pool, Despite Her Having a Pool Card to Get Into the Pool Gate
Jasmine Edwards was at her neighborhood pool when Adam Bloom asked her for her ID and then called the police. She shared the video on Facebook, which now has more than 4 million views. You can watch the video above of Jasmine Edwards’ encounter with Adam Bloom above. Edwards’ video was originally shared on Facebook but the embed is having technical problems, so the same video, just shared on Twitter, has been included above. According to the video, Bloom called the police because he wanted Edwards to show her ID and prove that she was able to use the pool. Bloom’s lawyer later said he called the police so the situation wouldn’t “escalate.”
But no one else was asked for an ID, Edwards pointed out in the video, and police concluded during the video that asking for an ID was not the policy. “I feel this is racial profiling,” she told Bloom in the video.
She told the police that Bloom first asked for her address, which she gave to him. Then he wanted her ID to prove her address was correct, even though she had her pool card to get into the pool with her child. The police swiped her pool card to prove to Bloom that it worked. Bloom then said on the video, “They kind of make their way around sometimes… but that’s good enough for me today.”
Karam Gulkham, a lifeguard manager for the pool, told the Winston-Salem Journal: “There’s a keycard to the door to get into the pool. Apparently it was not enough for him. I don’t know why he felt it wasn’t enough.”
When the police asked if they needed anything after confirming Edwards had the right to be there, Bloom said: “A form of ID would have been nice.”
When she asked for an apology, he did not respond. The police officers did apologize to Edwards. The incident happened Wednesday around 2 p.m. Bloom said he asked residents a few times a week for their IDs.
Gulkham was not at the pool when the incident happened, but he told the Winston-Salem Journal that all the lifeguards were told about it in a group message. He said he later spoke to Edwards and apologized to her for what had happened.
2. Bloom’s Employer, Sonoco Products, Fired Him as Their ‘Value Realization Lead’ After the Video Went Viral
We are aware of a terrible incident involving the actions of one our employees outside of the workplace, and we have released this statement.
According to Adam Bloom’s now deleted LinkedIn profile, he was the Value Realization Leader and Business Development Manager at Sonoco in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina area. He also worked on packaging, and was listed on Sonoco websites as the person to call about optimizing packaging supply chains and promotional displays.
When news about what happened spread, Sonoco Products fired Adam Bloom. They wrote in a press statement: “We are aware of the terrible incident involving the actions of one of our employees outside the workplace. The documented incident … does not reflect the core values of our Company, and the employee involved is no longer employed by our company in any respect.”
Brian Risinger, Sonoco spokesman, told The Washington Post that Bloom had been with Sonoco for about five years and was a business development manager.
3. Bloom Was Also an HOA Board Member & Pool Chair, & Later Resigned from Both Positions
FacebookAdam Bloom Facebook
Adam Bloom was also a member of the Glendale HOA board and the “pool chair,” WXII 12 reported. Glendale HOA announced in a letter to the neighborhood that they had accepted his resignation from both positions. The HOA said his actions did not reflect their inclusive values. Their letter reads:
“Dear Neighbors,
We sincerely regret that an incident occurred yesterday at our community pool that left neighbors feeling racially profiled. In confronting and calling the police on one of our neighbors, the pool chair escalated a situation in a way that does not reflect the inclusive values Glenridge seeks to uphold as a community.
Our HOA Board has accepted his resignation as pool chair and a board member, effective immediately.
We also have re-instituted a sign-in sheet at the pool to make sure no resident feels singled out again.
And, in the coming days, we will take additional steps to ensure consistent and equitable application of our pool policies and procedures. We apologize to our neighbors who were directly hurt by these actions, and we hope that everyone in Glenridge will join us in redoubling our efforts to care for and support all of our neighbors during this difficult time.”
Bloom’s attorney said in a statement that Bloom was doing his job when he asked for the ID. “For the last seven years, Mr. Bloom has been the Pool Chair for his local homeowner’s association,” the statement read. “The regulations in place at the pool … include only allowing neighborhood residents access… It is Mr. Bloom’s job to either address and correct the violation or remove the member from the pool… The people removed have included people of all ages and races… Over the recent Fourth of July holiday, a fellow board member approached Mr. Bloom with concerns regarding one of the pool patrons… This board member alleged that Ms. Edwards was not familiar to her, so the board member asked Ms. Edwards for her address… The woman asked Mr. Bloom to verify Ms. Edwards’ address and her pool membership…” The statement went on to say that a sign-in sheet was not set up that day like it normally would have been, and stated that the video was “incomplete and misleading.” (You can read the statement in full in Fact #5 below.)
4. He Previously Worked in Marketing for Bellomy Research, Primo Water, and Krispy Kreme
LinkedInAdam Bloom’s LinkedIn
Contact out, which still has Adam Bloom’s information, lists his past experience as including being the Senior Marketing Manager for Bellomy Research, being a Marketing Director for Primo Water Corporation, and being the National Marketing Director for Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation.
When Primo Water hired Bloom in 2012, the story was listed under “Business Milestones” in the Winston-Salem Journal. The article mentioned that Bloom had also worked for Domino’s in Michigan.
Bloom has a bachelor’s from Miami University and also graduated from Brother Rice High School.
5. Bloom’s Attorney Said that Adam Bloom & His Family Had to Leave Their Home for a ‘Safe Location’
Adam Bloom’s lawyer, John Vermitsky, has released a statement saying that his client, Adam Bloom, and his family had to leave their home for a safe location because they were getting so many threats. You can read his lawyer’s statement in full below:
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Adam Bloom and his wife have taken down their social media accounts since the video went viral. Quite a few people on Twitter were sharing messages and photos of their attempts to contact the two on social media, before their sites were removed.
Bloom’s lawyer, John Vermitsky, told The Washington Post that the incident was not racially motivated. He said Bloom was performing his duties when he approached Edwards and had called the police to “make sure that the interaction didn’t escalate.” Vermitsky added: “(It’s) unfortunate that conclusions are being reached by people who have seen a 46-second video of their interaction.” Vermitsky told Winston-Salem Journal that Bloom said another resident had questioned whether Edwards was a member of the pool.
Edwards, however, said that out of all the people at the pool, she was the only one he asked for an ID.
Vermitsky told the New York Post that Bloom has been receiving phone calls and even death threats since the video went viral. “This guy is really having a very difficult situation and dealing with backlash for something that’s pretty undeserved,” Vermitsky told the New York Post. “If you notice, he remains very calm — doesn’t make any racial epithets or anything. He was put in a very uncomfortable situation, trying to deal with conflicting responsibilities, and it’s simply unfair. This guy is in a very difficult situation, and it’s all because of a very misleading video.”