Polite profiling.

A few years back I was driving with my wife from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana airport to visit her folks for the Thanksgiving holidays. We were heading up highway 190 towards St. Landry Parish in a rental with out of state plates, when, wouldn't you know it, we got pulled over by a local sheriff outside of a little town called Livonia.

Me: Furious. Wife: Eh.

"Howdy folks, you were speeding a little bit there. License and registration, please?"

Me: More furious. Wife: Smiling.

"Sure officer, we just rented this car. We are on my way to see my family in Opelousas." Wifey takes over because I was still furious and Wifey wants her husband home for the holidays, and not in some Louisiana jail cell.

The sheriff, still smiling, and still very polite, started relaxing. I could literally see the change coming over him as he started bonding with my wife.

"Oh,  are you from around these parts?" My wife's accent started changing. "Yep , born and raised; went to Lawtell High and LSU. Going home for some good Louisiana fried turkey." It was on now. "Oh a Tiger gal, huh? Well welcome home. Where yawl traveling from? He was looking at me now sensing that I was the outsider. "Philadelphia". My wife jumped in again. "He took me away from home, I am not sure if I have forgiven him yet." They both started laughing at the same time. "Well you enjoy the fried turkey and the rest of your folk's cooking." He hardly looked at my driver's license or the papers for the rental. I could have given him a card with Donald Duck on it and he wouldn't have noticed. Then he must have remembered to give us a reason for stopping us: "Oh, and you all be careful, we want you to get home to your folks in one piece."  No ticket just a warning from the very nice sheriff. Forget the fact that I wasn't speeding any more than the rest of the cars in the flow of traffic that we were in.

Of course I know why he stopped us.  We had out of state plates on the rental, and we were...well... you know.

Me: You know we were profiled , right?  Wife: Yeah maybe, but he was so nice. 

I thought of that experience as I read about a case of racial profiling of a college professor in Dallas, Texas.

The sister believes she was profiled for walking while black and she wrote about her experience in the Dallas newspaper.

Well, as it turns out, there were cameras rolling on the patrol car dash-cam and  the police chief of the town  (Corinth, Texas) is now chirping that her officers have been vindicated because they were so... polite.

Please watch the video in the link  that I provided and you will see that the police officers were in fact very polite.

But here is the thing that I want my friends in the majority population to understand about this racial profiling thing: If you are stopping a black person just because they are black (I don't care how polite you are being) and you would have just passed a white person in a similar situation with a friendly waive, you are profiling them. It's really that simple. "Color aroused" racialist can be some of the most polite people on earth.

So yes, I agree with the professor, it's pretty messed up that you can't go on a jog in your neighborhood without two police officers approaching you in a marked police car to basically tell you to watch where you walk in the street.

“'When I saw the video, those officers were nothing but professional,” she said. “[The incident] just didn’t lend itself to racial profiling.

“If we didn’t have the video, these officers would have serious allegations against them," Walthall added. "It would be their word against hers. Every white officer that stops an African-American does not constitute racial profiling.”'

You are right about that chief, but every white police officer who stops a black person just because they happen to be black, is profiling. I don't care how damn polite they are.  

"The officers ask Bland for her ID, which she did not have but she gave her name and date of birth after insisting that she take the officers’ picture “for safety’s sake.” The policemen obliged her request.

Walthall said the officers were correct to ask for identification because Bland had committed a Class C misdemeanor by impeding traffic."

Yes, like I was speeding that day in Livonia, Louisiana.


*Pic from laprogressive.com


 

"Ghetto tendencies".

*Folks in Philly can be really rough around the edges. Even our police officers ---whose job it is to protect and serve--- carry a big ass chip on their shoulders. And, if we are going to be honest, some of them really shouldn't be police officers in the first place.




"A PHILADELPHIA police officer was arrested yesterday for an off-duty incident last fall in which he allegedly drove into a pedestrian - and then threatened to kill the man, shouting a racial slur at him and flashing his gun.


Edward Sawicki III, 34, was off-duty on Oct. 20, 2013 around 3 a.m. when he backed his car into a 37-year-old pedestrian on the 1100 block of S. 9th Street. 

Sawicki hit the man in the knee. The victim then pounded on the trunk of Sawicki’s vehicle with his hand to alert the driver, according to the District Attorney’s Office. 

Sawicki exited the car, pulled up his shirt and showed his gun. And then he rushed at the victim. Sawicki then yelled racial epitaphs at the victim and threatened to kill him.


At one point Sawicki stated “N#!!er, I’ll smoke you” while keeping his hand on the holstered, city-issued gun, according to the DA’s office.

Sawicki, who is a 9-year veteran of the force, was last assigned to the 25th District.

He turned himself into police earlier today. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Edward Sawicki for 30 days with the intent to dismiss.

Sawicki was charged with making terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct." [Source]


Officer Sawicki might or might not be off the street soon. Still, if what is alleged is true, Chief Ramsey (*in pic) really needs to be going through his force with a fine tooth comb.


When he does, I am sure he will find not only racists, but he will find more drug dealers and thieves as well.


Finally, I saw "Prime Time's" comments about Johnny Manziel, and I must admit that it made me uncomfortable. It did because I hate it when we stereotype people based on their actions.


Yes, "Johnny Football" plays and carries himself with some swag, but why does this have to be equated with "ghetto" or black culture? The kid is white, Texan, and comes from a wealthy family. But he is also a product of his environment, which, as far as I can tell, is one that fostered a sense of cockiness and "swag" from day one.


I read what Clay Travis had to say about the subject, and I found his article interesting. He was basically celebrating the fact that Johnny Manziel was helping to shatter stereotypes when it comes to quarterbacks. Which I suppose is fine. And yes, I do acknowledge that such stereotypes are out there.


But when folks like "Prime Time" celebrate the stereotypes and embrace the image that America chooses to project on men of color who want to play quarterback, it sends the wrong message.


"Oh, please. I love Johnny Football. See, the reason people won’t accept Johnny Football is because Johnny Football has ghetto tendencies. I love Johnny Football."


What exactly is "ghetto tendencies"? And why should it (whatever it is) be celebrated?


"Because he was successful, he made it, and he let you all know he made it, and he was cocky, he was flamboyant, and he let you know."


Couldn't this just be a wealthy white kid who has an incredible amount of talent and who is sure of himself and his skills on the football field? Rhetorical question. Of course it could be.


"Manziel's a creative entertainer, a border-defying, cross-pollinating cultural icon. He's a rich, white Texan who identifies more with black culture than with white culture, a polyglot melange in the our American mixing bowl.


But, look out, that still makes some people uncomfortable. As much as America may be a multi-cultural society, we still want to put people in boxes, identify them as one thing or another, create delineated spaces within our culture where some people fit and others don't.


But you ain't putting Johnny Manziel just in one box. "


But that's exactly what you are doing: putting him in a box. (Albeit a "ghetto" one.) And just like those old rich white owners;  it makes me uncomfortable, too. Although I suspect for a totally different reason.  







 

Sawicki then leaped out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued gun and rushed at the pedestrian, yelling: "N-----, I'll smoke you!" while keeping his hand on his holstered gun, the D.A.'s office said in a statement.
The victim called police, prompting Internal Affairs officers to confiscate Sawicki's gun and launch an investigation into the incident.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140403_Cop_arrested_for_bumping_man_with_car__then_threatening_him_with_gun.html#DXX7mhekuHLhuGCf.99

A PHILADELPHIA police officer was arrested yesterday for an off-duty incident last fall in which he allegedly drove into a pedestrian - and then threatened to kill the man, shouting a racial slur at him and flashing his gun.
Officer Edward Sawicki III, 33, surrendered to police yesterday morning. He faces charges including terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, harassment and disorderly conduct.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Sawicki for 30 days, with intent to dismiss the nine-year veteran officer, who was most recently assigned to North Philly's rough-and-tumble 25th District.
The incident occurred Oct. 20 at 2:45 a.m. as a pedestrian was walking on 9th Street near Wharton in South Philadelphia, according to the District Attorney's Office. Sawicki was backing up in his car when he hit the 37-year-old man in his knee. The victim pounded on the trunk of Sawicki's car with his hand to alert Sawicki that he'd hit him.

Sawicki then leaped out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued gun and rushed at the pedestrian, yelling: "N-----, I'll smoke you!" while keeping his hand on his holstered gun, the D.A.'s office said in a statement.
The victim called police, prompting Internal Affairs officers to confiscate Sawicki's gun and launch an investigation into the incident.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140403_Cop_arrested_for_bumping_man_with_car__then_threatening_him_with_gun.html#Erk12bJXBUZmVKer.99

A PHILADELPHIA police officer was arrested yesterday for an off-duty incident last fall in which he allegedly drove into a pedestrian - and then threatened to kill the man, shouting a racial slur at him and flashing his gun.
Officer Edward Sawicki III, 33, surrendered to police yesterday morning. He faces charges including terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, harassment and disorderly conduct.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Sawicki for 30 days, with intent to dismiss the nine-year veteran officer, who was most recently assigned to North Philly's rough-and-tumble 25th District.
The incident occurred Oct. 20 at 2:45 a.m. as a pedestrian was walking on 9th Street near Wharton in South Philadelphia, according to the District Attorney's Office. Sawicki was backing up in his car when he hit the 37-year-old man in his knee. The victim pounded on the trunk of Sawicki's car with his hand to alert Sawicki that he'd hit him.

Sawicki then leaped out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued gun and rushed at the pedestrian, yelling: "N-----, I'll smoke you!" while keeping his hand on his holstered gun, the D.A.'s office said in a statement.
The victim called police, prompting Internal Affairs officers to confiscate Sawicki's gun and launch an investigation into the incident.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140403_Cop_arrested_for_bumping_man_with_car__then_threatening_him_with_gun.html#Erk12bJXBUZmVKer.99

A PHILADELPHIA police officer was arrested yesterday for an off-duty incident last fall in which he allegedly drove into a pedestrian - and then threatened to kill the man, shouting a racial slur at him and flashing his gun.
Officer Edward Sawicki III, 33, surrendered to police yesterday morning. He faces charges including terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, harassment and disorderly conduct.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Sawicki for 30 days, with intent to dismiss the nine-year veteran officer, who was most recently assigned to North Philly's rough-and-tumble 25th District.
The incident occurred Oct. 20 at 2:45 a.m. as a pedestrian was walking on 9th Street near Wharton in South Philadelphia, according to the District Attorney's Office. Sawicki was backing up in his car when he hit the 37-year-old man in his knee. The victim pounded on the trunk of Sawicki's car with his hand to alert Sawicki that he'd hit him.

Sawicki then leaped out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued gun and rushed at the pedestrian, yelling: "N-----, I'll smoke you!" while keeping his hand on his holstered gun, the D.A.'s office said in a statement.
The victim called police, prompting Internal Affairs officers to confiscate Sawicki's gun and launch an investigation into the incident.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140403_Cop_arrested_for_bumping_man_with_car__then_threatening_him_with_gun.html#Erk12bJXBUZmVKer.99

"There is nothing left to be outraged about".

So now comes news that a fourth police officer in Oakland is dead, (the family hasn't pulled the life support system yet because the victim is an organ donor) shot by a maniac and life long criminal who swore to his sister that he wasn't going back to jail. His name was Lovelle Mixon, but there was nothing loving about Lovelle.

I am not going to talk about the obvious, because I am sick of sounding like a broken record, but as some of you eloquently stated in the past, this is going to get worse before it gets better.

And let's keep it real with each other. If we are going to be outraged when police officers shoot unarmed men on a train platforms, we need to be equally as outraged when some psycho shoots four police officers who are trying to take him off the street. I am not too familiar with Oakland, so I am not sure about the relationship between citizens and police there. (Maybe some of you folks who comment here on a regular from Oaktown can help me with this) But I am sure someone is going to make excuses for this psycho, and none should be made. Just as none should be made for the officer who shot an unarmed man in the same area not too long ago. Some will argue that the shooter is a product of his circumstances and environment, and considering the behavior of those transit police officers and some police officers in this country, he developed a shoot em first mindset.

That might or might not be true, but he was still a fucking psycho with an obvious long criminal history, and he did not deserve to be living among the rest of us.

"A man who did not want his name to appear in print and who works at a barber shop on the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and 73rd Avenue, said he heard gunshots from outside and went down the block, where he saw two officers lying on the ground near each other.
'I went over to one officer and saw he was bleeding from his helmet pretty bad,' he said. 'The other officer was laying motionless.' He said the officer lying near a car had two gunshot bullets near in his face. One bullet was lodged in his jaw and the other in his neck.

The man said he proceeded to give the officer CPR until police arrived on the scene."

Sorry sir, whoever you are, but you don't deserve the Lovelle Mixons of the world around you, either.