Racial Profiling

[B_X]

My mom and brother live in the Central Valley in California. I have been there numerous times, and noticed that the police there are so standoffish and confrontational.

So last night, my mom calls me, and she said that my brother was pulled over last noght for expired tags. His tags say 09/10. This confused me. This was a Monday night and his tags had expired Sunday, and he had forgotten to renew. Physically looking at his car though, his tags are not expired. Why would the cop pull him over? He wasn't speeding, he wasn't blasting music and he didnt make any illegal turns or actions on the road.

The cop pulls him and then 3 other cars pull up. Light shinning on him, and then after all of the harrassment, they let him go. No warning, no more mention of the tags. Just 45 minutes of harrassment. My brother works for the state of california, he graduated from Nursing School, but he works for CalTrain. He has never even been in a fight before. He doesn't have a record and he is scared of spiders... All he was doing was dropping his girlfriend off and they harassed him.

Would you think this was profiling or what? I mean, my mom said that in the 5 years she has lived there she has been pulled over 5 times. I know it happens everywhere... but my goodness.

[nessalynn77]

I don't know if it's profiling, but I know that if they see a tag that expires this month, they will probably run it to see if it's good (especially on a slow night, lol).  I've had that happen to me before.  I told them I was going to get my new tag that weekend, and they let me go.  All of the hassle after the fact?  Yeah, there's a good chance that had to do with the color of his skin...

[B_X]

I don't know if it's profiling, but I know that if they see a tag that expires this month, they will probably run it to see if it's good (especially on a slow night, lol).  I've had that happen to me before.  I told them I was going to get my new tag that weekend, and they let me go.  All of the hassle after the fact?  Yeah, there's a good chance that had to do with the color of his skin...

Yeah, he came home and my mom said he burst into tears... I felt bad for him, cause they mess with him all the time. He is really one of the good ones. But they dont see that

[LaylaMonroe]

I remember back in the 80s, they started selling bumper stickers that said, "I know I look Black, but it's just a tan. Please don't pull me over." 

Anyway, it could be profiling, but I always have to pause when giving opinions based on one side of the story. From what you shared, it probably was profiling.

But I gotta tell you, that happens just about everywhere. Especially with black men. And this is reason #237 it kills me to hear people say racism doesn't exist in 2010. I was in traffic court all morning, and I left there with such a sense of rage that I haven't been able to stop crying and praying. I'm so angry. (Not over my own ticket, they just reset it again for another day). But the stark differences between the way the black and hispanics were treated in comparison to the whites. Then, the uneducated and seemingly lower-class or working-class were treated differently from those who appeared professional and articulate. It was just really unbelievably unjust and upsetting.

What can you do about it? *throws up hands*

[phbrown]

Would you think this was profiling or what?

hard to say especially if they recently received a report that a Black male between the height of 5'-5" and 6'-5" about 160lbs to 240lbs (he had on baggy clothes) may have been involved in a theft.

So the cops just start pulling anyone for anything and if they match the description they start "talking" to them.

Its sad, I know (especially since that description is all to common).


In the end I agree it was profiling. However I'm guilty of profiling people all the time. I live in a predominately black neighborhood and whenever I see anyone who doesn't fit that description hanging around. I'm like what are they doing here? They are up to no good.
Luke 6:42


Has anyone filed a report?

I know here in Kansas you can get actual summaries of investigations that happen for when someone believes they have been harrased by the police. Every now and then (its rare) the investigation says the person was profiled/harassed by the police.

[LaylaMonroe]

Has anyone filed a report?

I know here in Kansas you can get actual summaries of investigations that happen for when someone believes they have been harrased by the police. Every now and then (its rare) the investigation says the person was profiled/harassed by the police.

That's a very good point. I think it's a good idea to file the report just so that they have it on record. You never know how many other people will file (or have filed) similar reports, or how they might be used in the future.

[6stringapprentice]

Sit back I have a story to tell.
 
I once got pulled over on I-20 from Shreveport back to Grambling. I had went to buy some strings and was on the way back. I wasn't speeding (mainly because i had someone in the car with me). Passed by a LA state trooper sitting in the median not thinking about it. My friend turns around and tells me I wonder who he's after. So I look in my rear view and this fool is right on my rear bumper at highway speeds. So he follows me at 69.95mph for around 2 mins and then puts his lights on.

Roll the window down.

Cop- Can the driver step out of the car please?

* Got out of car being sure not to make threatening jestures as I didn't want to get shot on the side of the interstate.

Cop- How you doing?

Me- Umm ...... fine?

Cop- You have your license on you

-Me Yes

*Goes in car to get license being sure not to make and sudden movements as once again I don't want to get shot on the side of the interstate.

*Hand officer the license

*Officer takes license and looks at it as if he were trying break the Davinci Code

*Officer tries to make small talk and eventually says something to the effect of I pulled you over for tint. My car at the time had 20% on the side glass and none on the rear. Also I knew very well he couldn't ticket me for a LA tint law when my vehicle, tags, registration and license are from OK.

Officer - Where are you headed

Me- I'm headed back to Ruston. I'm coming back from shreveport buying some guitar strings.

Officer - You play in a band

Me- Well I play at church

Officer- Church is a good place to be.

Me (Umm Okay officer pleasant)

Officer- Why are you acting so nervous

Me- I'm just not used to being pulled over (also I don't want to get shot on the side of the interstate sir)

Officer- Well you acting nervous makes me think your hiding something. You acting nervous makes me nervous okay.

Subconsciously- With all do respect you are the one with the badge and a gat within milliseconds of your reach.

Officer- You have any guns are weapons on you. Any knifes or anything sharp that can cut me.

Me - No

Officer- Set over this way and spread your legs.

Subconscience- Okay how exactly did we end up here getting patted down on the side of the interstate.

Officer- You have any drugs, weapons or contraband in the vehicle.

Me- No

Officer- You don't have anything at all you wouldn't want me finding if I search the vehicle.

Me- No

Officer- Are you a student

Me- Yes I go to Grambling

Officer- Where's you parking permit

Me- Right there - Pointing to the parking permit swinging from my dog-on rear view mirror and the "Grambling Tigers" License plate frame that was staring him in the face.

Officer- Stay right here, I'm going to go talk to your passenger.

*Officer goes and talks to my friend I guess to confirm the story and comes back

Officer- Do you have any outstanding warrants

Me- No

Officer- Have you ever been incarcerated

Me- No

Officer- Do you have a criminal record

Me- No

Officer- Have you ever been to court for anything

Me- No

*Officer stand still holding license pondering. By this time a second LA state trooper had pulled over and backed his car in front of mine.

Officer- Well I tell you what, I'm going to run your license and if everything comes back clean I will let you go.

Me- Ok

Officer- Yeah I need to run a license number M 0 ..... a bunch of cop lingo

.............. Jepordy theme music plays....................

*About 15min after no response from the radio

Officer- Well I'm going to go ahead and let you go and be careful pulling back into traffic

Me- Ok thanks (KICK ROCKS) 

[malthumb]

Hard to say if that was profiling or not.  In Michigan, the tags expire on the first day of the month on the tag.  Makes it easier for the police to know who they CAN pull over.  Found that out when the Mrs. got pulled over for expired tags.

Three quick profiling stories:

1986: One of my best friends and I are crossing the border into Canada.  He's 6'1", former Howard U football player, wearing dark shades, a black leather jacket, black racing gloves,driving a black Buick Grand National. I'm right behind him in the Customs line driving a black Buick Skyhawk and dressed in a shirt and tie.  I've made this crossing hundreds of times.  This is Matt's first time.  Who gets pulled over?  Me.

1990 something: My wife and I are driving our Corvette from our Ann Arbor area home to downtown Detroit.  Get onto I-94. Before we even make it to the next exit, we get pulled over for "speeding".  Officer said he clocked me doing 90 in a 55.  I explained to him that I had just gotten on at the exit less than a quart mile behind us.  Even in a Vette I wasn't hitting 90 that fast.  A dark colored SUV with blacked out windows pulled over in front of me.  Two other officers and a police dog got out, walked around the perimeter of my car and then the original officer said "okay, you can go".  Now what was that all about?

2007: Driving through Bloomfield Hills in a Mercedes from our competitive vehicle fleet.  I'm on the phone.  Bluetooth, so nothing up to my ear.  Flashing lights behind me!  I had cruise control set to the speed limit, I always wear my seat belt.  Whazzup with this crap?!?  I tell the person I'm talking to to listen in so they can hear how I'm being profiled.  Cop walks up, I'm ready to claim profiling.  Cop says "You really oughta turn your lights on". D-oh!

[ma1ne]

That's funny how he says you being nervous makes me nervous as if he couldn't blow ur head off for blinking too fast. Especially these trigger-happy county boys up here in PA. Racism and profiling will never die. Me and my older brother were in a K-Mart and as we were leaving from the checkout this white lady runs outside because she misplaced her wallet but thought we stole it. She all screamin and runnin after us like "I want ur license plate numbers" and what not. As if we were the only ones coming out of a K-Mart. Oh wait nvm, we were the only young black boys comin out.

[B_X]

Wow y'all, this is deep. And Rue, I feel you on the fact that folks say that racism doesnt exist... Cause it does. The absolute worse case I encountered was when I lived in Philly, I used to work in King of Prussia.

One rainy day I was driving to work, had just got off 76, I was coming to the arrow, it was red, then it turned green. It was pouring down rain, an there was a little more traffic than I expected to see on a Sunday morning. There was a car in front of me and they were in the left turning lane also. I was a car length behind them, and then the driver decides to make a RIGHT to get onto the freeway. Long story short, I hit them.

I got out of the car, praising God that it wasnt all that bad. Sure I messed up my car, and theirs, but we were all alive. The lady who was driving was white, she immediately asked if I was okay. Her husband then said to me "what the &^%$$^* were you thinking?!?!" I immediately apologized, and then mentioned how she started to make an illegal turn in the intersection. While she admitted it, then he told her ti shut up and not to talk to me.

This dude called 9-1-1 and told the operator that some black woman who doesnt belong in that part of town ran into them when the light was RED. That was a lie. Then he mentioned how they need to send a cop ASAP cause this BLACK woman looks suspect and that I would try to leave. Now he is saying this AFTER I had already handed my Geico card and license and everything to the wife. I had nothing to hide.

Then the unthinkable He called his daughter who was having a wedding dinner and said that he was going to be late cause a N-word ran into them... and I almost lost it. The cop who was white came, and the dude thought he had an ali, and really, he almost got himself arrested...

That still bothers me to this day. Not as extreme as most cases, but it was bad enough to me.

[B_X]

That's funny how he says you being nervous makes me nervous as if he couldn't blow ur head off for blinking too fast. Especially these trigger-happy county boys up here in PA. Racism and profiling will never die. Me and my older brother were in a K-Mart and as we were leaving from the checkout this white lady runs outside because she misplaced her wallet but thought we stole it. She all screamin and runnin after us like "I want ur license plate numbers" and what not. As if we were the only ones coming out of a K-Mart. Oh wait nvm, we were the only young black boys comin out.

What part of PA?

[under13]

I dont think I've ever been a victim. All 6 or 7 times I've been pulled over I deserved it, but most times I got off with a warning.

Took a pic last time I got pulled over.

[B_X]

I dont think I've ever been a victim. All 6 or 7 times I've been pulled over I deserved it, but most times I got off with a warning.

Took a pic last time I got pulled over.

One of my friends told me to wash my car after  I get pulled over because the cops touch your car when they pull you over just in case something happens, that way if something happens to them after you part ways, then they cant come back to you and say the cops prints were on your car. I dont know how true that is, but it was interesting nonetheless.

[Fenix]

Yeah, he came home and my mom said he burst into tears... I felt bad for him, cause they mess with him all the time. He is really one of the good ones. But they dont see that

Needs to man up.

I'm just sayin'...


 

[OleJ]

So last night, my mom calls me, and she said that my brother was pulled over last noght for expired tags. His tags say 09/10. This confused me. This was a Monday night and his tags had expired Sunday, and he had forgotten to renew. Physically looking at his car though, his tags are not expired. Why would the cop pull him over? He wasn't speeding, he wasn't blasting music and he didnt make any illegal turns or actions on the road.

I was pulled over by an officer. He said my registration sticker was expired, but I told him I had a new sticker installed that day. He looked, saw the sticker was current, and apologized. He told me he'd just put the plate # in and it came up expired and that the system had probably not yet updated itself since I'd gotten the sticker that same day. It probably helped that he was a big city cop (they tend to be better than your country yokel cops), that he was a brother, that I followed the script given to me by my attorney sister to use if I ever got pulled over ("yes officer", "no officer", "no, I don't why you pulled me over", "let me get my registration for you from my glove box", etc...), and that I was dressed up nice and in a car that didn't look ragged or unkempt.

I don't know how much good it would do, but I would file a complaint against the police officer for pulling your bro over without probable cause if the tags are good. Did he get the officer's name, badge #, or car # by chance?

[ma1ne]

I woulda knocked dude head off. That happened to my man. He's El Salvadorian and they were in an accident and the white dude thought his mom and aunt aint speak english and was callin em s---- and whatnot. He said he stole em soon as he said it lol

[ma1ne]

B_X it was outside Willow Grove. Out in the burbs lol

[B_X]

B_X it was outside Willow Grove. Out in the burbs lol

I was there this weekend, stayed at a hotel in Horsham, not too far from Willow Grove Mall... And I know what you mean. Its a shame...

I don't know how much good it would do, but I would file a complaint against the police officer for pulling your bro over without probable cause if the tags are good. Did he get the officer's name, badge #, or car # by chance?

Yeah he got all of that. He has pulled my mom over twice, and complaints have been filed.

Needs to man up.

I'm just sayin'...


 

Uh... No... 

[csedwards2]

[gtrdave]

My buddy Steve used to get pulled over all the time when he lived in South Central L.A.
He's a well-educated black brother who likes to drive nice musclecars (he's owned several Z28 and SS Camaros as well as a few older Road Runners and more) and apparently that makes him a prime target for the bad cops with nothing better to do than to mess with him. Ironically, he does not speed nor drive like an idiot, so that's not been the cause for him getting pulled over.
He's told me that the first question they usually ask him is "How can you afford a nice car like this?"