All I can say is that some of us are trying to fix that shit! If you pm me your zip code, maybe I can put you in touch with folks who are trying to change this.

it's been a whole 10 years since I've experienced this kind of crap ... when I first moved here, it was about 2 or 3 times a month.

Zip code: 85737 (That probably caused some extra cop pissed-offedness)

You handled it like a pro. That BS never gets attention unless they go too far.

There should be workshops for dealing with this crap.

Lesson 1:make sure you are not driving dirty! I mean inspection is on point, registration on point, driving with insurance. Make sure your lights are working. Pay your tickets and do not drive with a suspended license.

Failure to do any of these things often receive disparate treatment depending on pigmentation. Often Different rules will will be applied when you have pigmented skin. Whether your car will be searched, or seized and whether you get a warning, a ticket or in some cases handcuffed.

Lesson 2: no when to lawyer up

It makes some of us sick. I think others applaud profiling and harassing people. End of the day, I am sorry for what you went through and glad it did not escalate to something much worse. Wish every car was equipped with a camera to tape these exchanges.

Enjoy your weekend.

Just get one of those suction mount thingies, put the phone on it, and start recording. The Russians do this kind of thing all the time, whenever they get in their cars, because people will try to jump in front of them and slam on brakes to make the car hit them, to get a fake insurance claim. The best defense is video, so a lot of people do this constantly---any time they drive. Before they turn the key, they turn on the video.

I'm heartsick you had to know it.

that I've had to taught my nephews and those young men that I have mentored ... but we're in a post-racial era, dontchaknow?

so, because you have a small crack in your windshield, THREE cops with drawn guns approach you? sickening. trying to figure out what sort of threat that crack represents-- they would have to come up with a new excuse here, because so many cars here have cracks in the windshields.

there were only two officers that engaged in the stop and only one had his gun drawn.

I have a crack that runs across my entire windshield, but it does so below the horizon of the surface of my hood, completely out of my vision. So I have left it. (Car takes rocks like nobody's business. Windshield like a barn door)

Check your state laws about cracks in the windshield, chances are yours are similar. Might darn well be worth lodging a complaint, from stem to stern, including their cover story.

I'm gonna get it fixed ...

and like the wise billy goat ... "shake it off and pack it down."

It's not going to get better unless people take them to task over it.

The more, the merrier. You cannot be alone in receiving this sort of malicious treatment.

And yes, where'd they get those laser eyes to see well so far away in the dark?

Did you get their badge #s so you could make a complaint?

I forget to mention ... Page 13 of the "How to Drive While Black" manual explicitedly states:

Sometimes they seem to think that if you're still breathing when they leave, they've been benevolent enough.

When my fiance and I were living in Woodland Hills, CA (I'm sure you know the place but others might not, so I'll say it's a tony part of Greater Los Angeles), he couldn't drive anywhere with me in the car or we'd get pulled over often so they could 'check on my safety'. It was only slightly less often if I drove. After awhile they certainly knew us well enough, too, and where we lived. Pure harassment. Finally I took photocopied ID for both of us to the precinct station and told the commander he'd better call his dogs off. Said have your watch commanders post this where every uni can see it, because the next time somebody I recognize as a repeat offender pulls that again, we're lawyering up. The commander talked to me like I was a word I won't repeat. Afterwards we got pulled over by one or two rookies but I'd hand them a photocopy of an ACLU card along with the DL, and they'd back off. But it was awful.

Admittedly this was almost 20 years ago. Still I'd bet my bottom dollar things haven't changed that much. You'd think such a diverse city would be a better place for us to live. Before meeting my fiance, I bought my first little horse ranch about 100 miles from L.A., and guess what? The next closest town 15 miles away had around 300 people and no legal separate civic government, so the no-fee homeowners association (open to renters as well) served as an unofficial substitute. We elected various 'officers' but nobody in 14 years ran against the 'Mayor' because it would've upset the whole town. He was a middle aged black man who'd retired from government to farm and he'd served well at his post. I forget his first name because everybody just called him 'Mayor'. When he died in his late 60's, even the local bar closed for his funeral.

Two different worlds.

but wow, you sure handled it well! I don't think that I could have been so eloquent under that pressure.

they could see who was driving and why would one of them draw their gun? Is that routine now on a stop for a driving violation? I have no idea.

Glad everything turned out okay.

You handled it exactly right. You shouldn't have had to handle it at all.

That'll teach you not to use the conveniences in your car like that overhead light.

This kind of bullshit makes me angry, too.

Both by your tactful response as well as the display of superhuman visual prowess of your local constabulary.

...''He's out of our league, he has more than a brain stem and he's not afraid to use it.''

Younger cop: ''I'm gonna give us you a break.''

- This is the result one should expect to come from police department policy (and supported by the federal court system) which advances the position that police officers shouldn't be too smart.

K&R

to those who think I said something crazy- if you were a person of color you might understand why I said that.

What you say is so true. My incident of driving-while-black happened in Alabama and get this I was in my Air Force uniform with E-9 chevrons (rank) but had an older White female (in her military uniform) in the car with me. We were headed to a conference and I was driving the speed limit; while being passed by other vehicles. Yet, when the officer passed my rental vehicle, he slowed down, coasted in behind me and stopped my vehicle. She became puzzled in watching my actions as I physically prepared for the officer to approach my window (documents in order, hands on the window sill, trying not to look intimidating) ;which I'm prone to be while in uniform. I go through the normal verbal interaction, "where you from, do you realize you were speeding", then an added, "in my years in the military, I never seen a black man with so many stripes". He actually thought it was a compliment! After it was over and we drove away, I'll never forget my companion next comment; "I wonder why he stopped us?" Every time I tell the story, when i get to the part about my companion's statement, my Black friends just laugh and shake their heads. They understand, no words needed.

30 days before I was stopped for having a white woman in my vehicle! I was driving us back from a meeting, when I was stopped for having a plastic cover over my rear license plate … “It makes it difficult to see at night.” (It was 2:00p.m.)

After he ran my information, he returned to my vehicle and tells me to step out of the vehicle and put my hands on the roof of the car, my license came back as suspended 2 years before. (I know this to be false because if it were true, it would have come to light in at least 1 of the 3 times I was stopped when I was driving through Texas, on the way to Arizona … but that’s a whole ‘nother story).

I did as directed. As he was patting me down, he asked, “Is she your girl-friend?”

Me: “No. My co-worker. Why?”

He asked, “Does she have a license to drive?

Me: “I’m taking her back to the office to her car, so I assume so.”

Officer: “Okay, I’ll let you go, but she has to drive.”

Me: “Okay.”

The officer gets back in his vehicle and pulls off. I put the car in gear and start driving off. My co-worker asks, “What are you doing? He said you can’t drive, your license is suspended.”

Me: “Come on. You really think that after pulling me out the car and searching me, he would just let me go, if my license was really suspended?”

And after about a mile, I looked at my co-worker and said, “Well, I just learned a very important lesson about Arizona … I white woman can never get a ride from me unless there is a white guy in the car, too. And she will be in the back seat. And I will never accept ride with a white woman unless there is a white guy in the car and I can sit in the back seat.”

She was completely baffled, as to why … and she worked at a Civil Rights agency. That should have been my clue that in Arizona, not even Civil Rights workers know much about racial experiences.

fellow veteran or are you still on active duty. Serve your country and get stopped for being black with a white woman in your car. 300+ year old mentality of some amurikkkans evidenced here. Hasn't changed yet and still counting.......tick tick tick......

Cheers!

Retired TSgt here.

Were you headed to Gunter or Maxwell?

I was on my way to Maxwell.

But you handled yourself beautifully.

Good for you! Sorry you had to go through this, though. . . . what a bummer.

They love nothing so much as 'seeing' you go for your 'weapon'.
Why did he need to take his weapon out. That's some sorry shit.

And hey! No bigots!
And hey! No one 'thinks' like that!
And hey! It's not that common!


And hey! Don'cha know they were just doing their jobs.

I mean seriously - since black Americans SUPPOSEDLY put the race card in the deck. So not true - but once again - we are not the ones who put the race card in the deck.

they talk about this "race card", as if all of this is some type of game. This continuing discrimination sure isn't any type of game that I want to be playing.

who are daily victims of the arbitrary and cruel racism rampant in America.

Too bad you didn't think to get his badge number so you could at least register your disgust with his superiors.

When I hear firsthand narratives like this, I am so ashamed of my country of birth and its pretentions of "leading" the world.

that's what the asshole cops told me the last time i was pulled over. two cops in two separate cars pulled me over for driving without my lights on @ dusk in a well-lit area. i was pissed and i let them have it. in retrospect, i realize what i did was dangerous, but i JUST GOT SICK OF IT. sick of all the times it happened to me and every other black person i know. i am a black female, so they probably weren't so and didn't shoot me 41 times.

Hasn't happened to me in years.

When I lived in Texas and Louisiana before that, I was pulled over by local police, a parish sheriff (with a K-9 that was used to sniff around my car) and state troopers.

California has been much less troublesome.

It's just not right and it made me cry. That you also had to teach your nephews how to stay alive, heartbreaking.

1StrongBlackMan..

Obviously I wasn't there so I can't speak to the body language that was visible to you, but it could have been a training exercise. You have an older cop and a younger cop. It isn't inconceivable. I was pulled over by a snot nosed young cop (although he was very respectful) on the first of the month (a sunday) because my tags were expired. He went back to his car and wrote me a ticket so that I could show it to any other cop that pulled me over. I was kind of annoyed by the whole thing, but he has to get the experience somehow. I may have been his first solo 'pull over'.

I'm always a little stressed when I'm pulled over by the cops. I've only been ticketed twice (about 6 months apart in 1987 and 1988) and both times it was African American law enforcement officers (I'm white) they were both respectful when they wrote the ticket. I don't think it was racially motivated, I just happened to be going over the speed limit.

I don't know anything about the racism in your area, but as I said, my nerves are a little on edge when I've got the lights flashing. I'm not challenging your assertion that it was profiling, but isn't it possible that you were a little tense due to the circumstances?

If the older cop had his hand on his gun, it may have been to demonstrate how to handle a situation where there is need for concern. If you were wearing a suit, perhaps the older officer picked you out because he didn't expect you to be a threat.

I'm not trying to make light of your situation, but if there's any possibility other than racism - I hope that you consider it, because I think it's tough enough being a cop (though I am not a cop myself) and it just makes sense that you would try to train your people in as safe an environment as possible.

I know there is a lot of racism in the world, but sometimes behaviors can be explained in other ways. But, again I realize I wasn't able to observe their body language.

geez

I'm a white guy and I've never been asked in a traffic stop if I have a criminal history our anything in the car they should know about.

Last edited Fri Nov 1, 2013, 05:29 PM - Edit history (1)

typical cop behavior.

I'm glad you're okay.

In fact, he probably still is a black man. haha

Anyway, yes, that part of Greater Tucson is pretty white. My dad lives in Winterhaven, so I know the area.

I think you handled the situation very well, 1SBM.

I can't imagine how frightening that would be; I've been stopped by cops for speeding or the like and never thought about having to be sure my hands are visible; never asked if I've been in trouble with the law. Or asked if there was anything in the car they should know about! The cop's reactions show he knew he was doing it, or why make the mention of the race card? It's a shame African Americans are still dealing with this shit in this day and age.

That is outrageous. I've been pulled over quite a few times in my life and NEVER has a cop ever pulled a gun on me.

Probably because I'm white. No, not probably. I hate racists!

when stopped by a single officer, a fire arm is rarely drawn; but when stopped by multiple officers, the "back-up" officer is likely to have the gun drawn, if not unlatched with hand on handle.

Are black people usually stopped by multiple cops? Are they stereotyping the possibility of a conflict? Seem like it.

I worked in a convenience store for a couple of years here (Houston). We had a couple of cops who would stop in for a drink and chat or whatnot.

They would be chatting along, watching the cigarette purchases, gum, water, etc... and then a black teenager would walk in. Their hand would ever so slightly hover next to their holster...

These were the same kids who would fill up the ice bin for me so that I wouldn't get hurt balanced on an overturned milk crate or bring me a hot stuffed tomato from their mom. Whose a bigger danger to my safety in that store? Crazy cop. That's who.

I got stopped by a State Trooper in 1980 on a dark road at 1:00AM. I had just left a bar and had had a few beers. This was before the massive crackdown on DUI.

The trooper asked me if I knew why I had been stopped, and I replied that I didn't. He told me that I had nearly caused a collision while pulling onto the road. This was complete bullshit, as no other cars had gone by.

He went into his cruiser and kept me waiting for about 20 minutes while he ran my plates. Finally he came back with a written ticket. He said it was only a warning.

When I protested that I hadn't done anything wrong, he asked me if I'd like to have the living shit kicked out or me on the side of the road. I said "No, not really." He then said something like "Then shut the fuck up and be grateful I'm only giving you a warning."

I was shaking so badly and my heart was racing a mile per minute. I'm Italian with a fairly dark complexion, but I'm sure couldn't see that, but man, I would not want to be stopped like that on a regular basis just for being dark-skinned. They can make you so nervous that you appear to be guilty of something.

I've known a few other cops from my old neighborhood. It seems to me that about half are just doing a job, but the other half are power mad bullies with guns and badges.

I'd say you handled yourself very well. Still, it's a shame that you have to be walking on a thin thread like that for fear of getting shot or at the very least beaten.