Caught walking while Black

[*bfine32*]

...or so a University of North Texas Professor claimed:

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20151028-dorothy-bland-i-was-caught-walking-while-black.ece#commentsDiv

Quote:Flashing lights and sirens from a police vehicle interrupted a routine Saturday morning walk in my golf-course community in Corinth.

I often walk about 3 miles near daybreak as part of my daily exercise. However, on Oct. 24, I delayed my walk until late morning as I waited for the rain to stop. I was dressed in a gray hooded “Boston” sweatshirt, black leggings, white socks, plus black-and-white Nike running shoes. Like most African-Americans, I am familiar with the phrase “driving while black,” but was I really being stopped for walking on the street in my own neighborhood?

Yes. In the words of Sal Ruibal, “Walking while black is a crime in many jurisdictions. May God have mercy on our nation.”

Knowing that the police officers are typically armed with guns and are a lot bigger than my 5 feet, 4 inches, I had no interest in my life’s story playing out like Trayvon Martin’s death. I stopped and asked the two officers if there was a problem; I don’t remember getting a decent answer before one of the officers asked me where I lived and for identification.

I remember saying something like, “Around the corner. This is my neighborhood, and I’m a taxpayer who pays a lot of taxes.” As for the I.D. question, how many Americans typically carry I.D. with them on their morning walk? Do you realize I bought the hoodie I was wearing after completing the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2014? Do you realize I have hosted gatherings for family, friends, faculty, staff and students in my home? Not once was a police officer called. To those officers, my education or property-owner status didn’t matter. One officer captured my address and date of birth.

I guess I was simply a brown face in an affluent neighborhood. I told the police I didn’t like to walk in the rain, and one of them told me, “My dog doesn’t like to walk in the rain.” Ouch!

I didn’t have my I.D., but I did have my iPhone, so I took a picture of the two police officers and the Texas license plate. One of the officers told me I should walk on the sidewalk or the other side of the street for safety’s sake.

Although I am not related to Sandra Bland, I thought about her, Freddie Gray and the dozens of others who have died while in police custody. For safety’s sake, I posted the photo of the officers on Facebook, and within hours, more than 100 Facebook friends spread the news from New York to California.

“You are now in the company of Henry Louis Gates and others with the same experience,” wrote one of my former students from Florida. “We must stop racial profiling.”

For anyone who doesn’t think racial profiling happens, I can assure you it does happen. For a sanity check, I stopped by the mayor’s house and asked him, “Do I look like a criminal?” Mayor Bill Heidemann said no and shook his head in disbelief. I appreciate the mayor being a good neighbor, but why should he need to verify that I am not a menace to society?

I refuse to let this incident ruin my life. As I was finishing my walk and listening to Urban Praise radio, I encountered an elderly white woman who asked if I would like some roses. She gave me a half-dozen roses. It was a random act of kindness and that’s why I call Janet Herbison of Gemini Peach and Rose Farm in Denton a good Samaritan. That evening I had dinner with neighbors.

The more often we talk and get to know people as humans, the stronger we will become as a nation. We are all part of the human race.

Fortunately the Officer's dashcam caught the incident so we can judge for ourselves.


So legitimate concern or race-bating?

[*michaelsean*]

(11-04-2015, 11:12 PM)bfine32 Wrote: ...or so a University of North Texas Professor claimed:

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20151028-dorothy-bland-i-was-caught-walking-while-black.ece#commentsDiv


Fortunately the Officer's dashcam caught the incident so we can judge for ourselves.


So legitimate concern or race-bating? 

Body cams and dash cams will clear a lot more cops than they catch doing wrong.

[CKwi88]

I saw this article on Yahoo! and they called it a "Rorschach Test" for racism, in that you can see it either way, and that assessment really does bear scrutiny. I found it interesting.

As for race bait or legitimate concern, it has been shown that blacks are more likely to be stopped by police than any other demographic, walking or driving, so in my mind it is a legitimate concern. In this case, the dashcam really doesn't tell us anything other than the fact that all the parties handled what happened in an acceptable manner. Fortunately no cops were assaulted, and no innocent people were killed.

What really plays into the race factor here is the line of thought that led the police to stop in the first place, and that's something we can never know for sure. Would the police have stopped for a white woman on a jog through the neighborhood? What if the woman wasn't waving her arms and with a hood on? What if it was a dude?

They are all rather impossible to come to an objective conclusion on, barring some sort of data on the history of these stops and the people involved, so people will judge the incident probably on their already formed ideas. People who think that the race issue in America is overblown/non-existent will probably dismiss it as race-baiting. People who think that there is a serious race issue will probably see it as another example of profiling against blacks and a legitimate concern.

[*bfine32*]

(11-05-2015, 12:05 AM)CKwi88 Wrote: I saw this article on Yahoo! and they called it a "Rorschach Test" for racism, in that you can see it either way, and that assessment really does bear scrutiny. I found it interesting.

As for race bait or legitimate concern, it has been shown that blacks are more likely to be stopped by police than any other demographic, walking or driving, so in my mind it is a legitimate concern. In this case, the dashcam really doesn't tell us anything other than the fact that all the parties handled what happened in an acceptable manner. Fortunately no cops were assaulted, and no innocent people were killed.

What really plays into the race factor here is the line of thought that led the police to stop in the first place, and that's something we can never know for sure. Would the police have stopped for a white woman on a jog through the neighborhood? What if the woman wasn't waving her arms and with a hood on? What if it was a dude?

They are all rather impossible to come to an objective conclusion on, barring some sort of data on the history of these stops and the people involved, so people will judge the incident probably on their already formed ideas. People who think that the race issue in America is overblown/non-existent will probably dismiss it as race-baiting. People who think that there is a serious race issue will probably see it as another example of profiling against blacks and a legitimate concern.

If it were simply the video this would have a lot of merit; however, when you read the account written by Ms Bland, I think the objective is to incite.

She states flashing lights and Sirens interrupted her; although there were none.

The officers explained exactly why they were stopping her and concern for her safety prior to asking for ID; she stated she wasn't given a decent explanation.

She compared her experience to 3 people that died (2 killed) and a renown Human Rights activist.

[CKwi88]

(11-05-2015, 12:30 AM)bfine32 Wrote: If it were simply the video this would have a lot of merit; however, when you read the account written by Ms Bland, I think the objective is to incite.

She states flashing lights and Sirens interrupted her; although there were none.

The officers explained exactly why they were stopping her and concern for her safety prior to asking for ID; she stated she wasn't given a decent explanation.

She compared her experience to 3 people that died (2 killed) and a renown Human Rights activist.

The way she's going about it isn't the best with the embellishments, that's for damn certain there. But what is she trying to incite? A discourse about race relations? An honest discussion on how blacks are treated by police? 

She's comparing herself to the others because (in her mind) she suffered the same profiling that the others definitely/probably/possibly did. It might be kind of like Robert Jebediah Freeman comparing himself to Rosa Parks or MLK, but the base issue is still the same. 

[Vas Deferens]

(11-05-2015, 12:30 AM)bfine32 Wrote: She states flashing lights and Sirens interrupted her; although there were none.

How do you know there were no sirens and flashing lights?  Seems completely useless to actually get out of the cruiser.  Just pull up next to her.  And why are there 2 of them in that community?  Are you kidding me?  Surprised they didn't flashbomb her and call in a swat tank with her waving her hands around like that! 

Too many Cops with a budget that greatly out paces what they actually have to do.  **** will tell you.  He doesn't need them.  He has a gate and walks around with a gun in his neighborhood, just in case one of these types comes in his sights and accidentally walks the same path behind him.

[JustWinBaby]

A middle-aged black woman doesn't exactly fit the profile that gets profiled. I imagine when you think every cop looks at you twice because you're black it's hard to envision that they actually just, you know, wanted you to use the sidewalk. And, actually, they're not even telling her that but advising her that you should be walking facing traffic.

He apparently knew she was working out, but flapping her arms like that she also looked like a drugged out loon.

[*PhilHos*]

Honestly, who doesn't carry their ID with them when they leave the house?

[Belsnickel]

(11-05-2015, 08:09 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Honestly, who doesn't carry their ID with them when they leave the house?

There are plenty of times I don't.

[fredtoast]

(11-04-2015, 11:45 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Body cams and dash cams will clear a lot mire cops than they catch doing wrong.

And they also make the cops act better when they know they are on film.  So they are very effective at stopping police misconduct.

Most proof of police misconduct will come from other sources of video when the police do not think they are being filmed.

[djs7685]

There are some good cops, bad cops, good black people, bad black people, good white people, bad white people, etc. etc. etc. We should all know this.

It just sucks that there's such a divide in our nation right now due to people generalizing, it's very sad that this stuff still happens in the year 2015, and will likely be happening far past my time is up on this earth.

As far as this specific incident goes...I believe this is likely just some race baiting. Some people want to pull the "it's because I'm black!" card out with everything, hell, I have a friend that uses it quite often unnecessarily. However, there are some police officers that absolutely do see skin color as a red flag, so it's always good to look at the details and each incident case by case.

I'm white, I've been questioned by police a couple of times randomly in my life, and asking what you're up to, where you're from, and to see your identification seems like standard procedure to me. I guess I look a little "middle eastern" according to some buddies of mine, so I guess I could have been somewhat profiled as well, but instead of snapping pictures of the officers, spreading it on Facebook, and making a scene...I just told them what I was up to and handed them my ID that I carry with me everywhere. Meh, it seems some people just want some attention, I'd say this is probably one of those cases. Let's not pretend the police are never in the wrong, though.

[*michaelsean*]

(11-05-2015, 03:27 AM)Vas Deferens Wrote: How do you know there were no sirens and flashing lights?  Seems completely useless to actually get out of the cruiser.  Just pull up next to her.  And why are there 2 of them in that community?  Are you kidding me?  Surprised they didn't flashbomb her and call in a swat tank with her waving her hands around like that! 

Too many Cops with a budget that greatly out paces what they actually have to do.  **** will tell you.  He doesn't need them.  He has a gate and walks around with a gun in his neighborhood, just in case one of these types comes in his sights and accidentally walks the same path behind him.

One was a trainee.

[*michaelsean*]

The cops did nothing wrong. She's blocking the road. It's not a regular two lane road, and she is walking on the wrong side of it. If she realized this was all being recorded she would have never said a word because she knows it's BS.

[WhoDeyWho]

(11-05-2015, 09:52 AM)djs7685 Wrote: There are some good cops, bad cops, good black people, bad black people, good white people, bad white people, etc. etc. etc. We should all know this.

It just sucks that there's such a divide in our nation right now due to people generalizing, it's very sad that this stuff still happens in the year 2015, and will likely be happening far past my time is up on this earth.

As far as this specific incident goes...I believe this is likely just some race baiting. Some people want to pull the "it's because I'm black!" card out with everything, hell, I have a friend that uses it quite often unnecessarily. However, there are some police officers that absolutely do see skin color as a red flag, so it's always good to look at the details and each incident case by case.

I'm white, I've been questioned by police a couple of times randomly in my life, and asking what you're up to, where you're from, and to see your identification seems like standard procedure to me. I guess I look a little "middle eastern" according to some buddies of mine, so I guess I could have been somewhat profiled as well, but instead of snapping pictures of the officers, spreading it on Facebook, and making a scene...I just told them what I was up to and handed them my ID that I carry with me everywhere. Meh, it seems some people just want some attention, I'd say this is probably one of those cases. Let's not pretend the police are never in the wrong, though.

I'm a 37-year old black guy.  I've probably been pulled over about 5 times in my life.  A couple times were straight bullshit and they let me go after running a make on my plates and finding a clean record.  There were at least 3 times where I was breaking a driving law of some sort and they let me go with a warning.  I find that cooperation and respect goes a long way with dealing with police officers.  

[*bfine32*]

(11-05-2015, 10:26 AM)michaelsean Wrote: One was a trainee.

Yes, this is why there were 2 in the cruiser. It is also speculated (I know) that this is why the Officer asked for ID. He was showing correct protocal to the trainee.

[*bfine32*]

(11-05-2015, 08:09 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Honestly, who doesn't carry their ID with them when they leave the house?

I usually don't carry ID when I'm out running. WTS, I don't carry my phone either.

[SteelCitySouth]

(11-05-2015, 08:09 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Honestly, who doesn't carry their ID with them when they leave the house?

People that workout.

[GMDino]

(11-05-2015, 10:34 AM)WhoDeyWho Wrote: I'm a 37-year old black guy.  I've probably been pulled over about 5 times in my life.  A couple times were straight bullshit and they let me go after running a make on my plates and finding a clean record.  There were at least 3 times where I was breaking a driving law of some sort and they let me go with a warning.  I find that cooperation and respect goes a long way with dealing with police officers.  

Respect goes a long way toward making everything better.  

Still blows that they can pull you over for no reason though.

(11-05-2015, 12:36 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I usually don't carry ID when I'm out running. WTS, I don't carry my phone either.

Only reason I have my phone with me is to listen to whatever podcast I have downloaded while walking.  Almost never have my ID with me.  But I don't walk on main roads either.

[RoyleRedlegs]

(11-05-2015, 10:34 AM)WhoDeyWho Wrote: I'm a 37-year old black guy.  I've probably been pulled over about 5 times in my life.  A couple times were straight bullshit and they let me go after running a make on my plates and finding a clean record.  There were at least 3 times where I was breaking a driving law of some sort and they let me go with a warning.  I find that cooperation and respect goes a long way with dealing with police officers.  

My cousin is a middle-aged white guy who acts like an ass around cops and doesn't get warnings, he gets tickets. 
It's more about attitude than race in most situations.

as for the ID part, asking for ID has happened in every interaction I have had with the police. Even when I found a lost credit card and gave it to the cop who was 10 feet away and saw me pick it up. 

[GMDino]

(11-05-2015, 10:30 AM)michaelsean Wrote: The cops did nothing wrong.  She's blocking the road.  It's not a regular two lane road, and she is walking on the wrong side of it.  If she realized this was all being recorded she would have never said a word because she knows it's BS.

Certainly looks that way.

That's why I don't understand the post she made.  If she had a history of being stopped maybe she comes at it with a personal bias?  I don't know the answer to that question.