My Encounter With Law Enforcement as a Person of Color.
It’s heartbreaking to view a video of a man’s life coming to an end, especially when a law enforcement officer’s knee pinned his neck against the ground until he lost consciousness just minutes prior.
I am a POC, and while my encounters with law enforcement haven’t been as severe as George Floyd and many others, I’ve had my share of unfair and unpleasant brushes with officers.
This is why I was happy when the police officers let me get back in my car and drive away late one night.
I had come to a stop at a red light when I noticed police lights behind me. As the light turned green, I proceeded to move forward but also to the side so that they could pass me up. To my surprise, they didn’t pass me up; they pulled behind me.
It wasn’t long before I found myself out of my car with my hands placed on the hood of their vehicle, with one officer patting me down as the other searched my vehicle. The one officer who patted me down asked me why I seemed so nervous if I hadn’t done anything wrong, there was no reason to be worried.
Are you kidding, I replied. Why wouldn’t I be nervous? I’m in this situation, you’re questioning me, and I have no idea what I did wrong. Did I fail to make a stop at a stop sign? I asked.
“What were you doing at 25th and Karlov?” He asked.
(For anyone unfamiliar with the southside of Chicago, this is a rough area overrun by gang activity and violence.)
I let him know I was at a friend’s house. He then asked, “why did you make a U-turn as soon as you exited your parking spot? Is it because you saw us parked down the street and wanted to avoid us?
I was baffled at this moment. I hadn’t noticed any officers down the street when I entered my vehicle. I explained to them, the street was dark, and my focus was on leaving this neighborhood as soon as possible. I knew how bad this neighborhood is and my reason for turning my car opposite of the direction in which I had parked was that I was only a few yards away from a major street. I didn’t feel safe driving deeper into this part of town, even a block or two down one-way streets at one in the morning.
He questioned me more, hell-bent on getting the truth.
He took my driver’s license and instructed his partner to keep an eye on me as he ran my information through their system. I was mentally exhausted from having to deal with him; I didn’t want to have now to deal with his partner. To my surprise, his partner was the complete opposite. This situation was a genuine, good cop — bad cop scenario.
His partner was more pleasant. He asked me the same questions but with a non-threatening tone in his voice. I gave him the same answers as I’d given the other officer. I explained to him I was leaving a friend’s house. Our young adult group from church had gathered there for a game night. I told I didn’t want to drive in this unsafe neighborhood, for which I made a U-turn.
His replies allowed me to calm down. I’m sure he believed me because he was the one who poked his head in my car, and I’m sure he saw my Bible in the back seat along with all the weekly bulletin pamphlets I tossed back there every Sunday after leaving service. He also understood my reason for my decision to make a U-turn.
He asked me the question, “is your record clean?” I told him it was. “He’s trying to find something on you, but if you’re clean, he’ll have to let you go”, he replied.” I didn’t know why all the authority fell on officer number one, maybe it was a sonority thing, but I was glad to have officer number two treat me as a person.
All the while, I still had my hands placed on the hood of their vehicle, but we had a pleasant conversation. We talked about the gym and fitness. I never thought I’d have such a discussion in this predicament. Looking back at this memory, it’s amusing. Well, let me clarify; the portion of a conversation with officer number two is funny while still keeping my hands on his vehicle. Because all the while officer number one sat in his car with a stank face, typing away at his computer determined to find something on me.
When officer number one came back out, I could see he was angry. I suppose he was mad that he couldn’t find a reason to take me in. He shoved my driver’s license into my hand and told me to get out of his sight.
Officer number two, however, told me to be safe and have a good night. And I was on my way home.
Driving away from that situation, I was still feeling nervous and still confused as to what had happened.
This encounter wasn’t the first time nor the last time I have been pulled over by a police officer. But it was the only time I’d been taken out of my car and searched. It’s also the only time I’ve felt an officer treat me as a criminal.
While my experience pales in comparison to many unfortunate cases, not only in our recent history but dating back decades, I am grateful as a person of color not to have been unfortunate as many of our fellow bother’s and sisters.
I think back to that night. What if I had been irritable or non-compliant, would the event have unfolded with a different outcome than me going home?
I hate to admit this, and it isn’t something I wish to report. And by no means am I labeling this one officer, who I do not know personally. However, officer number one was a Caucasian and an angry one. I’m hoping his action that day was an isolated incident. I’m hoping he was acting out of frustration due to a bad day. I’m sure we can all relate to having bad days. But the thing is, I didn’t feel safe with him.
I completely understand; from their perspective, they were suspicious of my initial movements behind the wheel. But this doesn’t warrant an officer’s behavior and demeanor. Why was this one officer acting a total dick, determined that I was up to no good and frustrated when he couldn’t find dirt in my record? All the while, his partner was pleasant and treating me as a fellow human?
I’m grateful that evening there was one nice officer present. It’s comforting to know there are good officers out there. But it is alarming to know there are also corrupt officers patrolling those same streets.
Throughout history, there has been much injustice. But injustice affects people more when it is served by those who have sworn to protect. How can POC reach out to the protectors in time of need when they feel the need for protection from those in power who do the protecting?
I am extremely frustrated by the events of corrupt officials. But I think we also need to remind ourselves; there are plenty of competent officials out there. And they are fighting alongside us in an unfair system. And as a human race, we need to find a better waty to live.
My heart goes out to the victims of unjustified harm at the hands of those meant to serve and protect.
