And what does a bad apple do?
Spoils the whole damn bunch.
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I can’t watch the whole thing now, but did the guy ask for a supervisor? That screams “Let me talk to your supervisor.”
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This is where I get a niggle - the cop shouldn’t have been uneasy to begin with! It’s implies that knee-jerk suspicion of black people was okay, the cops just need to handle it differently.
I am all for police building trust within the communities they work, but that starts with not doing shit like this. Maybe if the cop was giving the guy a reward for doing a public service? But until being black is no longer a crime, it doesn’t matter how many friendly conversations cops try to have - it will always be anxiety inducing for a black person.
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Not even that. It should have been quite obvious what he was doing.
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Cops are suspicious all the time (disproportionately so with POC). Again…WE CAN HAVE BOTH. That’s the wonderful thing about “conversation/communication” it handles BOTH in one fell swoop. It eases or confirms any distrust or suspicion on both sides of that equation. Hand on gun and threatening commands leads to uncooperative behavior which leads to more heavy handed action, etc etc. The conversation will almost always lead to good places for these type of situations.
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I am not saying that police shouldn’t try to have friendly conversations with POC (though I think they should understand that ANY police interaction could be anxiety-inducing for a person of colour). What I AM saying is that the cause for that conversation can’t be “well, you were black and doing something I find suspicious” because it doesn’t deal with the inherent racism.
Policing should be friendly where it can, but friendliness can’t be used as a cover for confirming/refuting unfounded suspicions.
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I’m genuinely surprised that garbage isn’t already on the List of Things That Frighten Police.
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Thank you for expressing what I was thinking.
In either scenario (the one that really happened or the one laid out by users here with “friendly conversation”), once the cops went away, in his shoes, I would shake my head and say something along the lines of “f’ing racist cops…”
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Woops, should have read your initial comment. Yes, if someone is picking up garbage with an AR-15 it might warrant some follow-up questions.
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I didn’t say it was. I am saying we can have BOTH. We can work towards ending unfounded suspicion based on racism AND we can encourage positive conversations and building trust.
Seriously…we are on the same side on this, please stop arguing something that is not an argument.
The interaction is already well underway by the time the film is rolling, so we have little idea how it started or how it escalated. However, the anxiety black people feel in these situations is well documented. Black parents and educators even have to train their children about how to deal with the police.
That’s why the “friendly conversation” might be a bit of a white liberal fantasy - when that cop walks up, you don’t know what they’ve got in store for you. However, I say all this as a white liberal, and I think we need to listen to the actual victims about how they want to be treated. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say “not be approached for frivolous/unfounded suspicions” would be on the list.
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If it’s just about building trust, without any pretense for the conversation, fine I guess (though again, any police interaction can be anxiety inducing).
But if a part purpose of the conversation is to refute a baseless suspicion, then I don’t get it. I don’t get how it stops cops from having baseless suspicions about people based on their skin colour.
ETA: The impression I got from your original post is that the officer could use the conversation to coolly verify that the individual was not a threat, whereas I think it should be obvious that someone picking up garbage isn’t a threat. If that’s not what you intended, I apologize for misreading you.
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Did you feel a little ice-water chill before you realized the cop’s intentions were benign?
Also, what did the sticker say, if you remember?
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The cop says that the grabber could be used as a weapon.
Well, so could the guy’s boot, considering it could connect with the cop’s ass. Not too smart of the cop to miss that. /s
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“Blue Lives Matter”
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Yeah I’m really curious what sticker they would hand out. “Skateboarding is Not a Crime”? “You Have A Right to Remain Silent”? “I Do Not Consent to a Search”?
I guess probably just the name of the org unless they got creative.
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List of Things That Frighten Police (updated 3/8/19)
Blinking LEDs
Photography & Video Cameras
Black/Brown Adults and Children
Direct Eye Contact
Breasts
Lyft
Peaceful protests
Halloween
Lesbians
Imaginary Black/Brown People
Puppies
Turtles
Rap Battles
Free Speech
Mail Carriers
Motorcyclists
Disabled People
Drawings of Penises
Two-Dollar Bills
Milk
Pregnant Women
Nurses
Journalists
Balloons
Students
Yarn
Police
Sleeping People
12-Year-Old Journalists
Handcuffed Teenagers
Litter Pickers
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I have to agree there.
As a Black woman, I automatically look at all police officers the same way I do poisonous snakes, grizzly bears, or any wild, dangerous animal; to be completely avoided if at all possible, and dealt with extreme caution when avoidance isn’t possible.
Anyone that has a ‘free license’ to kill or maim me is going to be regarded as an existential threat; full stop.
That’s the everyday reality of PoC in the US.
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Boing Boing! Thanks for posting these stories. The only way anything will change is if everyone becomes aware that police do this illegal stuff frequently, and across the country. And in spite of all the past published stories, some people still deny that it is happening.
Smartphone cameras are the most important tool against police racism these days. It’s sad that it’s necessary to protect ourselves against these cops who claim to be American patriots, but who violate the constitution continuously - but yes, it’s necessary.
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quori
Neither police nor the public need a watrant nor permission to step on private property. This only applies to posted property that clearly states “private property. No trespassing”
The article I read says the cop saw the resident standing behind a posted “private property” sign & stopped to ask if he had a right to be there.
It also says the trashpicker is a student at the Naropa Institute of Disembodied Poetics [founded by Allen Ginsberg].
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