No, I am not blaming the victim.
What I am saying is wake the hell up!
When a police officer stops you and gives you a command — obey the officer!
Yes, even if you feel the stop is unconstitutional, racist or humiliating, just shut the F up and obey the officer!
You can always go to the newspapers, and the ACLU later and file suit.
I can’t tell you how many car stops escalate into shootings, but my guess is too many. And they are avoidable.
Be polite. Follow the officer’s commands.
This goes for everyone but especially for Black Americans — even if you think the officer is wrong, obey the officer.
Don’t ignore the cop’s commands, don’t ignore warnings, don’t talk back.
Maybe two decades ago Chris Rock gave the same warning in a comedy video that maybe he could not do today. Or maybe he could — like Dave Chappelle, he may be too big to cancel.
If you don’t remember the video — here it is.
Rock takes a very serious subject, runs it through the truth ringer of comedy, and turns it into a huge laugh. Listen to the reaction of his mostly Black audience.
What brings this to mind right now was the tragic death of Chicago man Dexter Reed, 26, who ignored Rock’s cautionary video.
We are told that Black parents have to tell their sons how to conduct themselves around police. Low-income whites got the same warning. I know I did. The idea is to “Sir” them to death — yes sir, no sir, please sir, I don’t know, sir.
When stopped by a cop, you pull over, cut the engine, place your hands where they can be seen, on the steering wheel. This tells the cop you are not a threat.
Yeah, I know about the “Black rage” thing. That centuries of oppression have created a deep loathing that can be set off like dynamite. It may be true, but it must be controlled, or we will get more deaths like in the Chicago case, which the AP reported out.
In this case, the cops have a video that clearly shows Reed ignoring police commands. Ordered to roll down his window, he rolls it up. Ordered to unlock his car door, he does not. It is very clear in this video.
Even with guns pointing right at him, Reed disobeyed.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability issued a preliminary report that Reed fired first, striking a Black officer. In the video, it is not clear who fired the first shot.
There are unanswered questions. Such as:
*Did the 5-member tactical patrol team actually pull Reed over for not wearing a seat belt?
*If a seat belt violation, why did officers approach so aggressively?
*Did Reed actually fire first?
*Was it necessary to fire 96 times in 41 seconds?
*Why did cops keep shooting after he tumbled out of his car?
*Did Reed have a carry permit for the gun found in his car? (He was awaiting trial on a gun case.)
Over time, these questions will be answered.
In the meantime, and forever, will you please listen to Chris Rock?
If George Floyd and Michael Brown and many other black criminals obeyed the police the country would not have had the riots and destruction of property and murders that occurred after their crimes. Many black Americans called for police reform. The truth is there a segments of the black community that need reform. This segment does not know how to behave in society. And I wish our politicians would speak up as loudly about this as they did about police reform. It’s a fact that blacks commit a disproportionate amount of crime
So true. Work with the officer. Treat him or her as you would wish to be treated if you were in their position. Be honest about what you were doing like driving 6 mph over the speed limit. Obey his orders so he knows you are not really against him or what he is required to do a d not any kind of threat. Honesty and cooperation will often even get you a warning instead of a ticket or worse.
If a police officer had not kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes he would still be alive.
Chris Rock’s video should be required viewing for everyone before being granted a driver’s license! Required, too, by everyone in our Police Academy. How often do we read about traffic stop suspects doing just the opposite of what Rock advises and getting shot?
This traffic situation been made much worse by Councilman Isiah Thomas’s ill-advised traffic stop law that prevents cops from making needed traffic stops, setting them up for irrational responses from bad young drivers. We must rescind Thomas’s “Driving While Black” law for everyone’s safety. ( Anyone ever sought Thomas’ police record, Freedom of Info Act, to verify if he was stopped 22 times, which he claimed was his inspiration for the law for “driving while black,” or was he a dangerous young driver who misbehaved when stopped by the cops?)
On top of Thomas’s backfiring law is the three times dumbed down, we read, police application test, resulting in three times less qualified police of all races on our streets with guns and legal municipal authority to shoot.
Mayor Parker could improve our city by #1, Urging the immediate rescinding of Thomas’s traffic stop law and #2, Immediately improving the police tests so they/we hire the best, smartest, most qualified candidates for everyone’s safety in Philadelphia regardless of activist’s racial quotas.
Agree 💯
I don’t know anything about Thomas being stopped, but his bill was bait and switch. It started out with enforcement, ended up without. https://stubykofsky.com/bait-switch-no-enforcement-in-driving-equality-bill/
This video tells it like it is. Yes this should be shown to all new drivers license applicants . After seeing the video a written test should be given and upon passing, you have to sign that you understand the video. This would help clear up some problems and keep the ass whippings to a minimum.
Just watched the video and OMG, this would never survive today’s cancel test!
As I said, Chris may be big enough to get away with it.
It’s a shame and an indicment on this country that this applies to any group particularly those who look like me!!!
I don’t know what you look like, but the number of white people shot to death by police is equal to the number of Black and Hispanic COMBINED https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/
Do people really think that Police want to make car stops? It’s probably the least thing that you’d want to do. The chances of getting hurt are crazy, the chances of getting killed are worse. Yet everybody bitches when they get stopped, because they believe their is a “Quota” Let me tell you, there is no quota for being dead. Comply, shut up, and both will walk away safely. Maybe one a little more pissed than the other, but you never know which one,
1. The Chris Rock video is one of the funniest — and most honest. If you don’t want an ass whipping, shut the **** up!
2. Imagine you’re a cop and stop ANYONE for WHATVER reason, and the windows of the car you’ve stopped are tinted as with roofing tar (thank you, Dave Barry). Think you’d be wary, cautious, edgy, self-protective when the driver refuses to obey your commands? You bet your bird you would. And when said driver does something stupid and you THINK they might be going for a gun, you are trained to defend yourself.
I got the best advice for dealing with cops from an acquaintance who, let’s say, is most charitably described as “streetwise.” He told me that the secret to cop psychology is that they “own the street.” Once you acknowledge their authority, they will treat you great.
I have found this to be true over the years. But the most dramatic demonstration of this for me, was back when I was a college student, with long hair and torn jeans–not exactly a symbol of the power structure. I came out of a bar, and realized I had locked my keys in the car, and home was a long way away. I figured, what the heck, flagged down a cop car and said, “Sorry to bother you officers, and I don’t think you guys can do anything about this, but I locked my keys in the car. Is there any way you can help me out?”
One cop turns to the other cop and says, “Didn’t Bob take a slim-jim off a guy the other day?” The other cop says, “yeah,” and so they call Bob! Soon I’ve got 3 cop cars, and six cops standing around my car, taking turns trying out the slim-jim to get my door open. (Apparently there’s a trick to it).
Passers-by stop to look, and I got my first taste of cop humor “There’s a dead body in that car,” a cop told the onlookers, and folks hurried away. So, my door gets unlocked, I thank and shake hands with the cops and I’m on my way.
They never even asked to see my drivers license.
Give respect, get respect
The same can be said when police officers mishandle the situation.
Agree. People doing dumb things must be accountable, as happened in the George Floyd case.
There are several issues with this event. The plain clothes officers should have requested a marked car to stop the vehicle in question. Enforcing vehicle code violations are usually conducted by uniformed officers. Looking at these circumstances it would appear the officers had prior knowledge of illegal activity concerning this individual. I don’t know that to be true but history would indicate it may be true. Big city policing is extremely dangerous since the racial grievance industrial complex embedded into the psyche of young Americans. The numbers of officers shot at have increased dramatically since Black Lives Matter initiated its actions against the police. It is acceptable and recognized favorably above this subset of believers to resist, challenge and attack lawful orders of the police. Chris Rock’s advice is good for everyone when they encounter the police. Being a police officer today has many challenges. My hopes and prayers are that the citizenry and police come to a common understanding that the Rule of Law is for everyone and obeying the law keeps all of us safe and free.