A lot of folks talking about the "10-year-old" part but the more pervasive problem in America is the "walking" part. In many areas of America there is zero infrastructure for pedestrians. Anyone walking is viewed as suspicious because surely no sane person would subject themselves to the danger of walking on these streets. Heaven forbid you are young, brown skinned, or wearing unique clothing - then the act of walking is probable cause. Literally.
I was working on a contract job in Houston and stayed at a hotel a mile from their office. First day was a nice morning so I decided to walk. It was ridiculous to navigate 8+ lane wide intersections. It was loud and not exactly a nice walk, but not unsafe and at least it was better than driving. By the time I got to the office, I realized that the security gate only opened for cars - I wasn't able to trip the sensor to even get the com working! A security guard came out to accost me and immediately treated me like a criminal. He couldn't comprehend why I was traveling on foot and refused to release me until my client came down to rescue me. My client's response, shocked in a scolding tone - "WHY did you walk?". I am apparently insane for wanting fresh air and a little morning exercise.
I walked once to a client's site in PA. It was about 1.5 miles from the center of the small town and the hotel were I stayed. The walk was quite nice, until I got to the block where the client's site was.
The intersection had "no ped-X-ing" signs on all four sides. The road widened so it was 6 lanes across. And there was no pedestrian entrance, so I needed to walk up to the guarded gate entrance for cars.
The guard was a bit confused, but I think what helped was he likely did not grow up in car-centric US, based on his Caribbean accent.
The building itself had bike rakes by the entrances. Completely unused.
I was working on a contract job in Houston and stayed at a hotel a mile from their office. First day was a nice morning so I decided to walk. It was ridiculous to navigate 8+ lane wide intersections. It was loud and not exactly a nice walk, but not unsafe and at least it was better than driving. By the time I got to the office, I realized that the security gate only opened for cars - I wasn't able to trip the sensor to even get the com working! A security guard came out to accost me and immediately treated me like a criminal. He couldn't comprehend why I was traveling on foot and refused to release me until my client came down to rescue me. My client's response, shocked in a scolding tone - "WHY did you walk?". I am apparently insane for wanting fresh air and a little morning exercise.