On August 16, at approximately 5:40pm, I found myself being harassed be an officer that had nothing else better to do with his time. I was riding down the 5400 block of Moores Run my normal route home from picking up my 1yr old, when I saw my son's older brother walking down the street. I slowed down on this non-busy neighborhood road to allow him to catch up to my car to say "hello". I stopped the car and the first thing he did was open the back door to see his baby brother who he doesn't see that often. Meanwhile sitting there, there were cars parked to the right of me so there was no place for me to pull along side. Be mindful I had my hazard lights on and I was sitting there for not even a minute.
Here comes this police car speeding up behind me; no sirens or lights on. You know, like they always do causing accidents all over the city. He stopped his police car behind mine. I asked my son's brother to step away from the car so I could find somewhere to pull over. When he did this, I pulled over so I could let the officer go by. Or so I thought. Officer A. Smith pulled beside me since I was now out of the car wondering why he had pulled that close to my car in the first place. Was I in a nice car? Of course! A car I worked DAMN hard to achieve.
Officer A. Smith starting slowly pulling pass me. As he was pulling up, my son's brother said "This officer doesn't like me. He's always picking on me because of the way I dress." This officer targets young teenage boys because of the way they dress. My son's brothers' hair was all over his head and yes, his pants were sagging. How can any person judge these young boys who have it so hard growing up? His hair was all over his head because he cannot AFFORD to get it cut or braided right now since he is paying for driving school. His pants were sagging because he cannot AFFORD to but a half way decent belt. This officer rolled past me slow enough for me to ask him if there was a problem. His Excuse? I was impeding traffic. WHAT TRAFFIC? I said to him "Well I'm pulled to the side now. There wasn't anywhere for me to pull". He got an instant attitude and started being nasty. He asked for my license and registration which I gave him after asking for his badge number which he wouldn't give me.
After letting me sit on the side of the road for almost an hour, which I have neighborhood witnesses and the ticket states 5 minutes, he gave me my ticket by almost throwing it at me through my car window. What's missing from the form is his badge number. I kindly told him that I would see him in court.
What's the problem with these officers? Are they miserable at their jobs or do they just have bad days all day everyday? I used to feel so bad about some of these officers and the things that happen to them, but after being humiliating and antagonized by this officer I don't anymore. The problem African Americans are facing is that we don't know how to utilize and research when things of this nature happen. If these young men and women would start putting things in writing and exposing the true inside story to the most crooked, curupt, and arrogant police dept., we wouldn't have to go through nearly as much as we do as citizens of Baltimore. Please help in making sure that these things stop. The pen is mightier than the sword. Write to Internal Affairs and the Civilian Review Board (CVB) to get your stories heard.
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