"Driving While Black" in America

Arguably the most successful black politician in Seattle history, Ron Sims has been pulled over eight times by the police. I have been pulled over exactly zero times.

Philando Castile, the man who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop as his girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath, had been stopped 31 times by police for, as family and friends said, “driving while black.”

The 32-year-old Castile has been stopped by Minnesota police a total of 31 times in the 14 years that he has had his license, and he was charged 63 times, usually for minor violations.

The charges included speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, driving after a revocation, no proof of insurance, improper display of original plate and parking violations. In all, Castile was found guilty of 43 violations and has paid out hundreds of dollars in fines.

Beyond the traffic violations, however, Castile had absolutely no criminal record.

Some years ago, an African-American friend of mine was waiting to meet his wife on the downtown streets of Brattleboro. We were all going out to dinner. An officer from Brattleboro Police said to my friend, “I want to see some ID.”

My friend, wearing a suit and tie, said, “Excuse me officer? Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, I want to see some ID right now!”

“Officer, I am going to reach in my pocket and get some ID. Is that OK?” and my friend produced a badge saying that he was from the Hartford Police Department.

The cop seemed shocked and mumbled something like. “Thanks.”

“Excuse me officer. Do you treat all guests in town like this?”

The cop walked away.

In a video that's now going viral, an officer of the Randolph County Sheriff's Department stops two unidentified black men driving through Steeplegate, a suburban neighborhood in Trinity, North Carolina, for reasons unknown.

The driver explains that he doesn't live in the neighborhood but owns a house there — he flips houses for a living, and was driving through the neighborhood to compare listings for his house at 7238 Trotters Run. The officer, apparently skeptical of the man's explanation, starts asking questions: Who's the president of the neighborhood's board, does he know any of its members. The homeowner offers to just drive the cop over to the house so the cop can see for himself.

"That just shows you, being black in America," the passenger says as the pair of men drive to the house, the cop following behind. "It's because you're young, rich and black, bro."

After they arrive and the driver unlocks the door, the men invite the officer inside, but he declines, saying he can't. "It's my house, though, you could," the homeowner says.

"We're still trying to figure out why we were pulled over," his friend adds, "but this is why we're in the neighborhood."

Tommy Monk wrote:Look at the op...



"...The 32-year-old Castile has been stopped by Minnesota police a total of 31 times in the 14 years that he has had his license, and he was charged 63 times, usually for minor violations.

The charges included speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, driving after a revocation, no proof of insurance, improper display of original plate and parking violations. In all, Castile was found guilty of 43 violations and has paid out hundreds of dollars in fines..."


14 years of driving... pulled up 31 times... so twice a year on average... AND DONE FOR 63 OFFENCES!!!


SO 2 REASONS FOR EVERY TIME HE WAS PULLED OVER!!!


STOP BREAKING THE LAW YOU TWAT!!!


YOU'RE NOT BEING DONE FOR BEING BLACK!!!

Major wrote:He musta given reason for police to stop him so many times or do the police random stop blacks?? or do the police random stop whites??

Ben Reilly wrote:

Arguably the most successful black politician in Seattle history, Ron Sims has been pulled over eight times by the police. I have been pulled over exactly zero times.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/driving-while-black-even-seattles-ron-sims-counts-8-cop-stops/

Philando Castile, the man who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop as his girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath, had been stopped 31 times by police for, as family and friends said, “driving while black.”

The 32-year-old Castile has been stopped by Minnesota police a total of 31 times in the 14 years that he has had his license, and he was charged 63 times, usually for minor violations.

The charges included speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, driving after a revocation, no proof of insurance, improper display of original plate and parking violations. In all, Castile was found guilty of 43 violations and has paid out hundreds of dollars in fines.

Beyond the traffic violations, however, Castile had absolutely no criminal record.

http://thegrio.com/2016/07/09/philando-castile-was-stopped-31-times-and-charged-63-times-for-driving-while-black/

Some years ago, an African-American friend of mine was waiting to meet his wife on the downtown streets of Brattleboro. We were all going out to dinner. An officer from Brattleboro Police said to my friend, “I want to see some ID.”

My friend, wearing a suit and tie, said, “Excuse me officer? Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, I want to see some ID right now!”

“Officer, I am going to reach in my pocket and get some ID. Is that OK?” and my friend produced a badge saying that he was from the Hartford Police Department.

The cop seemed shocked and mumbled something like. “Thanks.”

“Excuse me officer. Do you treat all guests in town like this?”

The cop walked away.

https://vtdigger.org/2016/07/06/namaya-driving-while-black-in-vermont/

In a video that's now going viral, an officer of the Randolph County Sheriff's Department stops two unidentified black men driving through Steeplegate, a suburban neighborhood in Trinity, North Carolina, for reasons unknown.

The driver explains that he doesn't live in the neighborhood but owns a house there — he flips houses for a living, and was driving through the neighborhood to compare listings for his house at 7238 Trotters Run. The officer, apparently skeptical of the man's explanation, starts asking questions: Who's the president of the neighborhood's board, does he know any of its members. The homeowner offers to just drive the cop over to the house so the cop can see for himself.

"That just shows you, being black in America," the passenger says as the pair of men drive to the house, the cop following behind. "It's because you're young, rich and black, bro."

After they arrive and the driver unlocks the door, the men invite the officer inside, but he declines, saying he can't. "It's my house, though, you could," the homeowner says.

"We're still trying to figure out why we were pulled over," his friend adds, "but this is why we're in the neighborhood."

https://mic.com/articles/146897/homeowner-pulled-over-for-driving-while-black-in-suburbs-and-the-video-is-going-viral#.KFNJgb78s

Major wrote:He musta given reason for police to stop him so many times or do the police random stop blacks?? or do the police random stop whites??

Ben Reilly wrote:

Major wrote:He musta given reason for police to stop him so many times or do the police random stop blacks?? or do the police random stop whites??

Yes, they do.