“WHEN I was 14, my mother told me not to panic if a police officer stopped me. And she cautioned me to carry ID and never run away from the police or I could be shot. In the nine years since my mother gave me this advice, I have had numerous occasions to consider her wisdom.”
“For young people in my neighborhood, getting stopped and frisked is a rite of passage. We expect the police to jump us at any moment. We know the rules: don’t run and don’t try to explain, because speaking up for yourself might get you arrested or worse. And we all feel the same way — degraded, harassed, violated and criminalized because we’re black or Latino. Have I been stopped more than the average young black person? I don’t know, but I look like a zillion other people on the street. And we’re all just trying to live our lives.”
——————————————————————
Is Police stopping and frisking “suspicious people” going to do anything to lower crime rate? I seriously doubt it. And even if it did, American police definitely doesn’t understand the meaning of “suspicious.”
Suspicious & furtive comes from detecting action, it’s from DOING. You can’t tell whether one’s suspicious by looking at their appearance—in this case, the color of your skin, the kind of clothes you are wearing, where you are at.
The police are simply ruining their reputation, portraying themselves as abusers of rights instead of protectors of civilians. I am so glad that I am an innocent and “un-furtive” looking non-black/latino girl… American police. *Shake.My.Head*
