Over the years I have had my share of encounters with law enforcement. Most of them ended without serious incident, and I have thought a lot about why that is. Here are a few that have stayed with me.
Cops rushed me on the block
I was sitting outside with a group of friends when an unmarked police vehicle pulled up. Everyone scattered. I had no reason to run so I just stood there. The next thing I knew the officers were running directly at me. I looked around trying to figure out who they were after. Then they were on top of me, threw me against the wall, and patted me down. Did I have any drugs or weapons? No. Did I know why they were checking me? I told them I did not.
They found nothing, told me to stay out of trouble, got back in their vehicle, and drove off. My friends came back out laughing and jokingly threw me against the wall imitating the pat down. You had to laugh. What else were you going to do.
Cops accused me of being a drug dealer
I was a college student at this point, coming home from school, dressed professionally. I ran into some friends on the corner and stopped to talk. Sirens. Within moments we were all against the wall.
They paid special attention to me, the light skinned guy in a tie who did not look like he belonged there in their eyes. One officer suggested I was delivering drugs for local gangs. I explained that I lived there, I was dressed that way because I had just come from school, and these were my friends. After I showed my college ID they told me I was free to go, but not before adding that I should not be standing on corners like that because it gives the wrong impression.
Officer confronted me for being near their cars
I was walking home and passed by the precinct near my block. An officer ran out, grabbed me, threw me against a car, and asked if I had any tools on me. Anything I could use to poke him with. I told him I was just walking home. He asked if I wanted to go into the precinct. I said no. He suggested I might be stealing car parts. Near a precinct. He eventually told me to get away from their cars.
That officer seemed uncomfortable with me simply walking through my own neighborhood. A neighborhood where he was relatively new. There are broader conversations to be had about what that dynamic does to the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Officer flashed his flashlight in my face
My friends and I got pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The officers were generally respectful except for one who came to the back where I was sitting and kept flashing his flashlight directly in my face. I made eye contact and nodded. He seemed to take that as a challenge. The tension was obvious without a word being exchanged. His partner eventually came over and guided him away, though he kept looking back at me the whole time. After they left my friends said that officer had it out for me and we were lucky his partner stepped in. I had noticed too. We shrugged and went on with our evening.
A final thought
I have been fortunate that none of these encounters escalated into something worse. Not everyone is that fortunate, and we hear about difficult outcomes regularly. I recognize that my light complexion has likely played a role in how some of these situations resolved. Light skin privilege is real and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
What I also know is that in every one of these situations I stayed calm and respectful even when I felt the treatment was unfair. I did not think I could win that battle in the moment. Keeping my composure was the smartest move available to me and I believe it made a difference every single time.
How have your encounters with law enforcement gone?
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