So I'm on my way to see a friend of mine in Durham. We hadn't seen each other in about three months which is rather unusual for us. I was supposed to arrive at 3:30 at the meet up spot but I didn't end up leaving my house til after three and the drive is about forty minutes. It was a little rainy but the drive was going well. A state trooper appeared from out of nowhere and everybody slowed down in homage to the blue lights. Me, as long as I'm not doing anything crazy I'm pretty much gonna maintain my flow. The trooper was in the passing lane and I was behind him. He tapped his brakes and I slowed up and got in the right lane. I was doing about 70 and my car slightly inched ahead of his. Here go the dang lights.
I rode for a minute making faces at him in my rear view mirror, indicative of my shock that he would pull me over. When I came to a stop he started shouting something at me over the loudspeaker. I couldn't understand what he was saying and he just kept shouting the same inaudible command. I thought he was telling me to get off my cell phone but I wasn't talking on it. Finally I was able to make out "bridge" so I figured that he wanted me to pull a little more forward so that we could both be off the bridge. Once I stopped again, he got out and started with the police 101 talk.
Him: Is there any reason why you're going so fast?
Me: I'm only going 70.
Him: Well the speed limit is 65. I'm a state trooper and you were going to pass me.
Me: (indignant-thinking to myself who gives a phuck; you got a car just like i do. cars are meant to go)Who does that?
Him: (frown on his face because he didn't understand)Huh?
Me: Who gives people tickets for going 5 miles over the speed limit?
Him: The speed limit is 65. And why were you on my bumper. Is there any reason why you were following so closely?
Me: I didn't think I was that close.
Him: You were too close. When I tapped my brakes you slowed down.
Me: I slowed down because I thought someone in front of you was slowing down.
Him: License and registration.
Me: (I pause and act like I don't know where my information is and reach in the glove box and hand it to him, but not before I add this)I'm late getting somewhere. Can you expedite this?
Him: (no response just looks and walks to his car)
I whip out the cell phone to tell Tonya that I'm going to be late because I got pulled over. Of course Captain Redneck takes his time writing my ticket. He was probably trying to run my name through all 50 states to see if there was anything he could get me on. If this had been a year ago, he would have been successful. I'm completely legit now. Gots all my papers. When Captain Redneck has returned he gives me the ticket for $155 and tells me my court date, yada yada yada. As he turns to leave we dialogue again.
Me: Let me say this to you.
Him: (He pauses and puts his head back down to the passenger side window)
Me: When you were shouting at me through the loud speaker I couldn't understand what you were saying. I thought you were trying to tell me to get off my phone but I wasn't on the phone. I was very nervous because I don't know if you watch t.v. where you live but I do. I know what white men with guns do to black men when they get stopped and I didn't want you to shoot me.
Him: I wouldn't shoot you unless you shot at me.
Me: (ignoring that b.s. and annoyed at being interrupted)Your tone was very aggressive and I didn't like it. The way you got out of your vehicle was too aggressive as well. I thought you were gonna take out your billy stick and hit me with it. You need to understand in the context of you being a white man with a gun and me being an unarmed black man how I must've felt when you were shouting at me. I didn't want to make any sudden moves. That's why I put my hands up and opened the door when you were shouting because I didn't want to give you any reason to think you needed to shoot me. I still don't see why you stopped me because I was only doing 5 miles over the speed limit.
Him: (sensing where I was going with this)You getting stopped has nothing to do with you being black. You just need to slow down.
Me: Well, I didn't get stopped by officers before I purchased this car.
Him: Just slow down.
Me: (put my car in gear and told him I was leaving. He was still bent over inside my window.)
Him:Be careful when you merge back onto the highway.
Me: **crickets**and an attitude for him making me even later
I really don't think I overreacted and tried to make it something that it wasn't. It angered me that he would be so dismissive because he's never had to walk one mile in my shoes. I do not like the police. (Except for one_man) I have not had good experiences with them. I truly believe that his major reason for stopping me is that he thought I was disrespecting him by passing him when he's a state trooper. Who cares? I had somewhere to go and as a law abiding citizen I don't feel like I have to stop driving because a state trooper is on the road with me. That would be like if I was have an observation and I wasn't teaching hopping up and trying to act like I was doing something. I don't even roll like that. FTDS.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Are You Serious?
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26 comments:
Wow, i was scared just reading that. But you are right, he stopped you and ticketed you because you passed him. I've seen it time and time again, but giving a ticket when you are just over 5 miles is just wrong. He wanted to prove something to you, that he was the man. Police scare me, seen too much, and know what they can do in an instant...and they don't care nothing about beating down no black woman either, saw it happen right here. If it hadn't been caught on the video ole dude would have gotten away with breaking a sisters arm by throwing her to the ground just because she asked him why he had stopped her. I met a policeman in the bar once, he showed me his badge, and it was after we had already had a pretty good conversation going, when the conversation led to getting stopped...that's when he told me he had a "get out jail free" card, which was his badge. I told him the same thing i told you, "police scare me", and i told him he was one of the first policemen that i liked (next to One Man)...but overall i try my best not to get on their nerves. Think about it, it could have been worse.
I think you handled it well but I would have never said what you said. That's just me. I just stay quiet..although I have not gotten a ticket in awhile..
(knock on wood)
BTW..like the new pic.
Wow. Not sure how rainy it was, but even going just five miles over the limit is enough to get stopped, particularly when you're on the bumper of a Trooper.
Think about it...were you in HIS position, you might have pulled someone like you over as well.
@miz: you're right, it could have been worse. it was bad enough that he was yelling at me. i do not like to be yelled at. and i really think he just felt like he had something to prove--at my expense. usually i just pay the ticket and move on. this time i'm thinking about taking a day off work and actually going to court.
@brit: i've been through this song and dance with the police multiple times. i feel like i'm harrassed all the time so now i don't care what i say to them, as long as i don't say something that'll get me put in jail. i've even been stopped for a sobriety test, but that's a whole 'nother post.
@diva: 5 miles?!?! nobody does that, except for Captain Redneck and those like him. if i were in his position, i would have let it go seeing as how i never zoomed past him. it was a steady gradual slight overtaking. he was probably going about 66 and i was going 70, so i didn't blow past him. and i wasn't on his bumper. let me guess, you believe everything the police say?
Wow...ok, so I dated a cop for a year and I understand both sides of the argument. He was trying to check you cause all the other cars slowed down but you wanted to show that he wasn't sh*t so you kept going which caused him to feel disrespected and he pulled you over...at the same time, raining, 70mph he wasn't sure what was going on in your car when you started to pass him...like transportation of 'manufactured good'...Kudos on the rant to him!!! Loved it!!!
Wow, I am bold sometimes but I would not have said anything to him. Good for you! Getting that off your chest to him was a good thing.
fight the power!! lol
I can dig where you're coming from. I can't stand the police. Even been shot at by them. A black officer @ that.
Even to this day, when I get pulled over I take note of the badge number of the officer and refuse to turn my radio off. I see no reason why the officer should disrupt my enjoyment.
F*CK THE PO PO! They are so corrupt. While, he was technically right for doing what he did...he only did it to make an example out of you. You knew better than to test him, though.
you need to go to court and see if he shows up so you can get out of paying it. ridiculous. and i'm glad you said what you said.
???? @ that sarcastic question...really uncalled for...but to answer, no I don't.
@cherry: welcome. *pulls out chair for you to get comfortable* i wasn't showing him the wasn't sh@t, but apparently that's how he interpreted it. maybe i was just trippin.
@mp: i felt better. i'm sick of being harrassed.
@mp1: shot at? that's a story i want to read about. post that. what's with refusing to turn off the radio. i don't want that to be the reason that some officer pistol whips/billy clubs you. turn off the damned radio if they ask you to.
@jameil: i think i'm gonna go, but you know that's time off work, my kids will fall a little behind and the ap test will be coming right around that time. fighting the power is sometimes so inconvenient.
@diva: you were right in what you said. i just like people to take my side. agree with me!!!
Memo to self: Agree with James even when I don't completely agree.
OK, you're forgiven. You're lucky I already like you! *side eye'g you on my way out though*
@diva: now, you're getting it. how you gonna forgive but still hit me with the side eye?
lol...it's an involuntary reaction - I really can't help it! Got me in to LOTS of trouble as a teenager too!
Wow, I don't think you overreacted either.
Did he ever tell you what he was trying to say?
Wow, I am kind of speechless.
@tabu: he was trying to tell me to pull forward so that we wouldn't be stopped on the bridge. he told me it was for my safety and his. at some point a car rode by and blew its horn while we were having our exchange and he referenced that point.
WHO THE HELL GIVES A TICKET FOR GOING 5 MILES OVER THE LIMIT?????
I don't mesh well with the police either! *eyeroll*
$155 for going 5 over...Lawd have mercy!
@ladynay: precisely why i asked him, "Who does that?"
@mint: i ain't scurred. (at least not anymore since all my paperwork is legit).
Okay, Jaybee, I'm gonna comment on this post first and then go back up to the more disturbing one for me. Now, keep in mind that I am speaking from both a black man and a police officer's point of view (and I have been black a heck of a lot longer).
Here goes: First of all, State Troopers have to be extra, extra safety cautious, due to the fact that if all hell breaks loose their cover can be literally be coming from many, many miles away. Police have to have a mindset that everyone has a gun, because you just never know. I believe myself to be one of the nices police officers out there, but when I conduct a traffic stop I stand a little taller and speak with a little be more authority, because the reality is that I don't know the person in that car or what is going on in their mind. They might be the nicest person in the world, then again they might have it in their mind that they wanna kill a po-po today. The moment I step out of the squad car I am being sized up, in some cases. I want to be sized up as someone you don't want to fuck with. That way, I go home safe and you go home safe. And I know this is hella hard for someone who doesn't do the job to understand. You need to do a ride along with a cop. Come to Texas. You get in the car with me and see life from the other side of the tracks (sort to speak).
I will agree with you that most officers will not write a ticket for going five miles over the limit, but it is a ticketable offence. You probably got it more for your attitude than anything. Sometimes it pays just to be quiet and suck it up. If you only knew how many people I stop who I do not give tickets too. Attitude is key (I need to post more about my job. I have a great story about the guy a pulled over, as he was pulling into the driveway of his house. This man gave me so much crap that I ended up yelling at him and waking his whole family. I felt bad too, but you have to hear the whole story to get a better idea of everything that went on).
Also, I am thinking that, like our traffic officers, State Trooper's primary job is to write tickets. So, if you give them a reason to pull you over you are gonna get the ticket (regardless of race). I personally think it is disrespectful, and not the smartest thing in the world, to by pass a cop when he is going the speed limit. Why give them a reason to pull you over? I, myself, am a cronic speeder, but even I will slow down when a cop is in front of me (I hate being pulled over, especially as a black man. Don't make me tell the story about riding in the passenger seat of a squad car, with a fellow sergeant, who just happened to be white. A squad car pulled up beside us and flashed it's reds and my first impulse was to get out in run. Now you know that's just wrong).
Now if they are going extra slow then all bets or off and I will pass them, but if they are going the speed limit, it behooves me not to pass them, even if I am running late...And I am talking about being in full police uniform, in the area town that I work, running late for work, I will not speed (even five miles over) another police officer. AND I KNOW I AM NOT GOING TO GET A TICKET, especially not in Dallas. I will cuss in the car and wish that they would get off the f'ing freeway so I can make up for lost time, but I will not pass them.
Sadly, I do think you over reacted just a little. Sorry, but I have to be honest. Just from what you have posted I think the situation could have been handled better. I completely understand the black man view point of the police. Hell, I have had less than favorable encounters with the police my damn self, before and since I have been police (remember, I am still a black man). I'm sorry you got the citation, brother, but like it or not, you gave Red Neck P.D. the rope so he used it on you.
But, of course you know that this is just One Man's Opinion.
Aw'ite, Jabee, I just read the comment and your responses to them. Don't give me hell on mine, damn it. I will be back to see.
@one_man: when i read your disclaimer Now, keep in mind that I am speaking from both a black man and a police officer's point of view (and I have been black a heck of a lot longer). i knew what the final outcome would be. dang, one_man, they got you too. lol. it did give me some perspective though. i didn't know that's what state troopers do primarily. i do still feel that he was being extra and i seriously did think he was looking for a reason to shoot me. cops always say that they don't always give out tickets, but i've never been that fortunate. kudos to you for being a model citizen when you're around an officer. for crying out loud it was just five miles. hopefully he won't show up to court and i can get it dismissed. i'm receiving what you said. after all i was interested in your opinion. but my 'attitude' was only as a result of my perception that he stopped me without a good reason. i don't even know if i would describe it as an attitude in the sense that we normally think of. i truly was nervous that this dude was looking for a reason to get trigger happy. maybe i watch too much t.v.
So, you think I drunk the kool-aid, huh, JB? LOL. Here is a friendly tip on wheither or not you will be able to get out of a ticket or not. Look for the tabs on the officer's shoulders. If the tabs are green, it means they are patrol officers and they make their activitity in any number of ways, from answering calls to working accidents. Most seasoned patrol officers hate writing tickets (at least here in Dallas the do). If the tabs are red, that mean they are taffic officers and you can bet you are going to get a ticket. Citations are what they are out there to write and they do their job and love it. There is no getting around a ticket from a traffic officer, white or black. The joke is that they will give their own mother a ticket, on her birthday.
Something else to think about. Officer are thought a procedure when conducting a traffic stop. Like it or not, it urks them when they are confronted right when they get to the car. The reality is that more often then not, people know damn well what they did prior to being stop, but most want to jump stupid just because they don't feel that they should have to face the consequences of their actions. That being said, Mr. I've never been so lucky as to not get a ticket, try sucking in that pride and waiting for the officer to ask all the questions. Be polite, and take responsiblity for whatever violation that you committed to get you stopped in the first place. See what happens. It really is true what they say about catching more flies with honey.....Peace.
Oh, and get over the five mile issue. YOu sound like Ross, from Friends, saying "we were on a break". You were wrong, my brother. Deal with it. LOL. I know that there are people who believe that it is okay to speed if you only go five miles of the legal limit, but that is not the case. The speed limit is the speed limit, wheither you go five or twenty over it. I know, like I said, I am a chronic speeder. And I suffer from road rage to boot. I'm a pleasure to ride with. LOL
@one_man: it's so hard for me to not become defensive. i've been taken in before and that experience traumatized me. i don't trust the police. i've had lots of experience with traffic stops. the result has always been the same for me whether i was extra nice or mouthy. (i got real fly one time in raleigh at about 2 a.m. on the way to the telly for some azz). i still walk away with a ticket! your whole last paragraph spoken like a true officer of the law. you're just like the rest of them. all that red on your lips and tongue. the whole damned pitcher. seriously though, i know i was wrong, but admit it. he was just being an asshole. thanks for the red/green thing. you gonna have me staring officers down.
thats a cold game man.. i dont really get down wit the rollers too much either except for my sister who is an officer of the law. im witchu on the whole "why not pass a cop" thing.. i mean people get so spooked offa some flashing lights when theyre on the freeway actin like they forget how to drive.. all bad..
@swag: that's what i'm saying. who gives a phuck cause u a cop? but i guess that's why i keep building bridges and repaving roads in north carolina with all the revenue i pay from tickets.
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