I was racially profiled today ...

[thundley4]

We have a limit on tint and the cops are determined to enforce it.  It's been going on for years and years.  They WILL pull your ass over and give you a ticket.

That window tint is a big reason for a cop to loosen their holster when approaching a car, imo.

[RobJohnson]

I think it might depend on the weather.  I got my windshield dinged by a rock a couple weeks ago.  The temps dropped down to the high 30's one night, and when I came to my car the next morning I had a crack several inches long. 

True. Also the first time you turn on the defroster the crack might also start to grow.

[RobJohnson]

Illinois does have a limit on tinted windows, but the rules got so confusing that cops don't even bother enforcing it anymore.  I've seen some so dark that you can't see if anyone is even in the car in the  daytime.

Working second shift at ALCOA's Davenport Works they used to set up traffic stops after work and tint was a big part of why they would stop people. Most of the tint companies would remove the dark tint free of charge if they were the ones that installed it. The police officers that  I knew had a tool that measure the darkness of the tint.

From my back windows in my Dodge Journey I doubt anyone can see me during the day when I am driving. The tint is very dark. The car dealerships automatically have the windows tinted when they take the new vehicles into inventory.

[Skul]

The kid a neighbor of mine was pissing his pants, he knew how the South worked and I did not.

No, Vesta, that is NOT how the south works.
We are no different, the cops are no different.
If the kid was antsy, it was for a different reason.

[RobJohnson]

That window tint is a big reason for a cop to loosen their holster when approaching a car, imo.

Especially if all they see is white eye balls. 

[ChuckJ]

No this sounds perfectly logical,  the south is strange to us  from the northeast., especially if we come from a small town and everyone is related to each other.

Cops in a small town know everyone down to their grandparents and when an out of town is hired to the Force they fill them in on who is who and what is what.

A big city in the south with a good mixture of races, people moving in and out only get to know the criminals they come across.   So with no idea who these people are they tend to get suspicious of everyone for any reason.

Now as I understand it, this Black man was driving a female White coworker home when stopped.  We have no idea if this part of town was all White and this was unusual to see a Black Man in the neighborhood with a White woman in the car.      Cops do look for the unusual and get curious.    

I was stopped in Tenn. I had taken a Black young man to the Mall for Xmas shopping and on the way home a town Cop never having seen me before with out of state plates got curious.   Can't blame him, they say that every 10 cars they pull over there is something illegal going on and in this Rebel country an out of state car with a blond driving a Black man around was reason enough to get his antenna up.  

The cop was confused, my plates were from VA. but I spoke with a Yankee accent.  The kid a neighbor of mine was pissing his pants, he knew how the South worked and I did not.

I explained I had come south to help out on my in laws farm and my passenger was a neighbor and needed a ride.  I came from the State of Maine down to Va. and on to Tenn.     The thing that sold him on my story was my Down East accent, that settled the Cops curiosity.

Yup, Cops the good ones that is, get curious about anything that seems out of place or unusual.   When this poster says he turned his inside light on to read something at a stop light, in the dark that will call attention to him and give wonder to anyone---Why the heck is he doing that.

Vesta,

Have you, by any chance, ever been to Georgia? I ask because there was a letter printed in one of the local papers a lot of years back that was supposedly sent in by a woman that wasn't from around here. I remember the last line of that letter almost precisely. The rest of the letter I have paraphrased from my memory below.


I am writing to relate how impressed I am with how friendly the people in your area are. I am from up north but had reason to pass through your town recently. Unfortunately, my auto suffered a flat tire. I was struggling in the summer heat to remove the flat when two young men pulled over in a large pick-up truck. The too men offered to change the tire for me and quickly went to work. Within just a few minutes they finished the job and placed the flat in my car trunk. They then gave me directions to a nearby garage that could repair my flat. I offered to pay them for their help, but they refused and said, “we just consider it an honor to help a yankee go home.”

[diesel driver]

They then gave me directions to a nearby garage that could repair my flat. I offered to pay them for their help, but they refused and said, “we just consider it an honor to help a yankee go home.”

We need to send a few hundred thousand of them back from Northern Virginia.

Damned yankees are f'n up our state!

[Maxiest]

Both cops got off their motorcycles and one approached my vehicle on the driver's side, while the other unholstered his pistol and approached the passenger side.

I am sorry butt but this right here tells me all I need to know.

I have a little insight into this, and of course every department has their own procedures and I would really need to know where this perp/suspect lives, what part of town he was in, etc...

I highly doubt that one of the officers un-holstered his pistol.  There are a couple of circumstances that they might have.

1.  Vehicle of same make and model was on a hot sheet.  Although if it was a high risk stop probably would have been initiated because officers approached him.
2.  Plate was ran and the perp (DUmmie driver) has past experience with the police.  Although I see he said he doesn't.
3.  Perp is on parole.  Although according to his story he probably isn't.
4.  If they felt a threat, but this is the most unlikely IMO.


Usually pulling people over at 6:30 in the AM on the way to work doesn't constitute pulling a service pistol, but as I said there could be unknown factors such as what part of town and if a similar vehicle was on the hot sheet for either being stolen or committing a crime.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I was racially profiled today.


Because I'm white I was assumed to be a racist, sexist, gay-murdering, warmonger and was told the only way I could prove I wasn't would be to swear allegiance to the international socialist order.

[vesta111]

 

No, Vesta, that is NOT how the south works.
We are no different, the cops are no different.
If the kid was antsy, it was for a different reason.

Oh Yeah, tell me about it.    Some County Sheriffs in the south have a habit  of prowling about late at night and stopping  so called speeders with out of State plates.  They procede to make you at 2-3 am follow them to a Magistrates office, open 24 hours and pay your fine on the spot.    It is up to the officer to determine how much to charge you,
based on the speed they say you were going.  

If you are driving a cheap car with kids in it and explain you are heading home for an emergency they can fine you $40.00, if you have  an expensive car and well dressed they can fine you $150-200 bucks.  It is at the discretion  of the officer to say you were going at most any speed.

Number 2 son came home from the army in civilian cloths and found he was $5.00 short in Boston to ride the bus.    Some cop came along and noticed he was hanging out and gave him out of his own  pocket the money to get the buss.

In New Orleans at a late night tour of the City, one Jazz Joint had sliding glass windows that opened onto the street. I watched as a beat Cop walked past and did a little two step on the street as he passed by.

Never saw one Cop all across the South West so have no idea how they handle things out there.   Oops except at the check point on RT10 they checked our travel trailer for contraband and confiscated a bag of oranges.

Naturally the Cops are going to have different problems in the towns and city's across the country.  By culture the Cops will respond in different ways to different local problems. Cops are humans you know and they are not perfect, they have their prejudices good and bad.  Somewhere I was told to never trust a cop with no sense of humor.  



  

  

[Mr Mannn]

I am sorry butt but this right here tells me all I need to know.

I have a little insight into this, and of course every department has their own procedures and I would really need to know where this perp/suspect lives, what part of town he was in, etc...

I highly doubt that one of the officers un-holstered his pistol.  There are a couple of circumstances that they might have.

1.  Vehicle of same make and model was on a hot sheet.  Although if it was a high risk stop probably would have been initiated because officers approached him.
2.  Plate was ran and the perp (DUmmie driver) has past experience with the police.  Although I see he said he doesn't.
3.  Perp is on parole.  Although according to his story he probably isn't.
4.  If they felt a threat, but this is the most unlikely IMO.


Usually pulling people over at 6:30 in the AM on the way to work doesn't constitute pulling a service pistol, but as I said there could be unknown factors such as what part of town and if a similar vehicle was on the hot sheet for either being stolen or committing a crime.

High 5.
Nothing about this story feels true to me.
1) I've seen two motorcycle cops working together, but never in a group of three.

2) Further the way they all backed down right after a sharp remark by the OP...nah. That's not happening. Snappy back talk is the way to get a ticket, not a way to get out of one.

3) Since when is a cracked windshield a reason to stop someone? Any cop worth his salt can come up with a better excuse.

4) DUmmies lie all the time.
But the biggest lie is the OP's name: 1StrongBlackMan. I just do not believe he is black. DU is lily white. A real black guy could have made this bouncy so much better.

[Bad Dog]

High 5.
Nothing about this story feels true to me.
1) I've seen two motorcycle cops working together, but never in a group of three.

2) Further the way they all backed down right after a sharp remark by the OP...nah. That's not happening. Snappy back talk is the way to get a ticket, not a way to get out of one.

3) Since when is a cracked windshield a reason to stop someone? Any cop worth his salt can come up with a better excuse.

4) DUmmies lie all the time.
But the biggest lie is the OP's name: 1StrongBlackMan. I just do not believe he is black. DU is lily white. A real black guy could have made this bouncy so much better.

Busted.

[GOBUCKS]

We got pulled over once in Mexico City for excess window tinting.

The driver negotiated a fine to be paid on the spot, and we were back on our way in a few minutes with no paperwork, muss, or fuss..

It is a service provided by the mexican police.

[Skul]

Oh Yeah, tell me about it.    Some County Sheriffs in the south have a habit  of prowling about late at night and stopping  so called speeders with out of State plates.  They procede to make you at 2-3 am follow them to a Magistrates office, open 24 hours and pay your fine on the spot.    It is up to the officer to determine how much to charge you,
based on the speed they say you were going.  

If you are driving a cheap car with kids in it and explain you are heading home for an emergency they can fine you $40.00, if you have  an expensive car and well dressed they can fine you $150-200 bucks.  It is at the discretion  of the officer to say you were going at most any speed.

Number 2 son came home from the army in civilian cloths and found he was $5.00 short in Boston to ride the bus.    Some cop came along and noticed he was hanging out and gave him out of his own  pocket the money to get the buss.

In New Orleans at a late night tour of the City, one Jazz Joint had sliding glass windows that opened onto the street. I watched as a beat Cop walked past and did a little two step on the street as he passed by.

Never saw one Cop all across the South West so have no idea how they handle things out there.   Oops except at the check point on RT10 they checked our travel trailer for contraband and confiscated a bag of oranges.

Naturally the Cops are going to have different problems in the towns and city's across the country.  By culture the Cops will respond in different ways to different local problems. Cops are humans you know and they are not perfect, they have their prejudices good and bad.  Somewhere I was told to never trust a cop with no sense of humor.  

I live in the south, sweety. Give it a rest, I know better. Your boys up north do the same thing.

[ChuckJ]

We got pulled over once in Mexico City for excess window tinting.

The driver negotiated a fine to be paid on the spot, and we were back on our way in a few minutes with no paperwork, muss, or fuss..

It is a service provided by the mexican police.

Was the police office nadin?

[Bad Dog]

We got pulled over once in Mexico City for excess window tinting.

The driver negotiated a fine to be paid on the spot, and we were back on our way in a few minutes with no paperwork, muss, or fuss..

It is a service provided by the mexican police.

This may describe our healthcare system in a few years.

[Aristotelian]

DUmmy account:

1StrongBlackMan (7,109 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/11874410

I was racially profiled today ...
I was on my way to work. I stopped at a stop light in a construction zone. I was third in line, in the center lane of a 6 lane road (3 headed North/3 headed South). It was the start of morning rush hour, so there were two lanes of cars to my right.

As I waited for the light to change, I turn the interior light on to read the document I was working on before leaving home.

That's when I saw 3 motorcycle cops posted up in a parking lot to my right, just past the intersection. When the light changed, I saw one of the cops nudge one of the other cops and point directly at my vehicle as I passed. They pulled out and turned on their lights.

I made my way to the curb and motioned that I was going to pull onto the approaching side street. I turned off my vehicle and got out my license, registration and proof of insurance. I did what I was taught long ago ... I kept my interior light on, let down all four of my windows and placed both hands on the door post, outside the driver side window. (I'm not getting shot because they could see my hands or thought someone was doing something in the vehicle.)

Both cops got off their motorcycles and one approached my vehicle on the driver's side, while the other unholstered his pistol and approached the passenger side.

The cop on the driver side said, "Do you know why I stopped you?" (No hello ... No good morning)

I responded "No, sir."

He said, "I saw you have a crack in your windshield."

I said, "Really? Well, yes sir. I caught a rock on my way home, yesterday."

He told me to sit tight while he ran my information ... but before walking away from my car he asked "The Question" ... "Have you ever been in trouble with the law?" (Mind you, I'm wearing a suit and tie and NPR is playing on the radio.)

I respond, "What kind of question is that? Do you ask everyone you stop that question? But to answer your question, yes ... I got a speeding ticket about 19 years ago."

He stopped and said, "Do you have anything in your car that I should know about?"

I responded, "No. There is nothing in my car that is of your concern."

He step away from the car and said, "Why are you so hostile?"

I responded, "Because it's 6:30 in the morning, I'm headed to work and you stop me for some bogus reason."

He responded, "I couldn't tell whether you were Black, white or purple when I saw the violation. Why do you guys always play the race-card?" (Note: I never mentioned anything about race)

I responded, "Because you could see a 4 inch crack in the lower left corner of my windshield, from more than 100 feet away, between two lanes of traffic, in the dark; but you couldn't see my skin color? Really?" And I laughed.

At that point, the older cop, the one with his gun drawn, said something to the cop I was talkiing to and I was handed back my information and he kind of yelled over his shoulder, as he was walking away from my car, "I'm gonna give you a break. Just get it fixed."

What a way to start a day in America.

Reality:

As I was driving to work I saw a police car and then spent the rest of the journey and a good proportion of my morning fantasising about their oppression of me.

[dandi]

[Maxiest]

DUmmy account:
Reality:

h^5

[Purple Sage]

I'm assuming you are white, so it's ok to ask you those questions, but for any non cracker it's racist. Do we need to send you to our sensitivity training class?

I'm sure they'll give me plenty of it in the reeducation camp.