The customer left after I passed by them, he's faster than I am going through two sets of double doors then we both ended outside on the night street together. "Hope I didn't scare you back there."
"No. They didn't restock 12 pack of Pepsis, so I intended to go over there." I pointed across the street, "and buy Pepsis there," but now this conversation is pinching my window. "What happened at the traffic stop?" The man, a young black man who I hadn't encountered before and still quite excited about the days events eagerly described the BLM protest in Dallas and the snipers that followed."
"Before that, the original traffic stop that was uploaded to Facebook video. What happened?"
"He was stopped. The officer told him to show his I.D. When he reached for his wallet the cop reacted and shot him.""Shot him!"
"Yeah. Reaching for his wallet and shot him. I'm telling you. Whenever I'm stopped by police I'm looking straight ahead, holding my chin up and...""What are you going to do? "
"IHe's too young to know he's delivering stand up comedy that was hilarious forty years ago. He sounded exactly like a specific Richard Pryor routine but without being the slightest bit funny. And like Lurch inside, I have nothing useful to add, so I stood outside with him as the minutes ticked away and my scratch plan abandoned, and just listened until he was done.
am
reaching
into
my
to get
my
wallet." (because I don't wanna be no motherfuk'n ackcident. )
37 comments:
Stratospheric black crime rate puts cops in hair-trigger response mode but let's not talk about that.
If I were a cop, I would find something else to do for a living. Sorry people. You asked for it by not having their backs and not supporting your police force. You are now officially on your own.
Or...become a sheriff in one of the little burgs out west where it is like Mayberry. Everyone knows your name, you know the cops, you know their routine, where they stop for coffee and lunch. They know us too and wave at us when we are going the other way on the road. I know this is a rural and small town thing, but you do recognize people by the vehicles that they drive.
"Oh...there goes the Dumbplumber in his 1972 White Chevy Service truck." Wave
"Look David is driving his yellow diesel today." Wave
" Hi!... Fred the Mexican (that's his affectionate nickname) is hauling logs instead of cattle" Wave
People wave at us all the time and we have no idea who they are, but you'd better wave back to be polite WAVE :-D
Mayberry.
I have cop friends in several different states. Lots of early retirements and they are having a tough time recruiting young people to become cops.
I must say - I highly recommend that if you are pulled over for a routine traffic violation, just put your hands at the top of the steering wheel and wait for the police to walk to your window. It shows respect, and the cop appreciates it. DON'T hastily riffle through your glove box. Sure, your looking for papers, but the cop doesn't know that. As far as the cop thinks - You might be looking for your gun.
I've gotten out of tickets by doing this simple act of courtesy.
***
The facts of this case are still unfolding. It does look bad. So far it seems this cop was trigger happy.
Never found Richard Pryor all that funny.
As for police forces, some here remember "Support Your Local Police". These things are cyclical.
And the backlash this time should be something. People generally don't like feeling in danger when they step out of their homes.
The media portray this as "it's open season on black people by white cops" even though blacks are killing other blacks at a much higher rate.
The media do all they can to ensure more rage and more killing.
Lots of early retirements and they are having a tough time recruiting young people to become cops.
Yup. Why continue to put your life in jeopardy for people who won't stand up for you? Who don't even appreciate what you do? The stress of being a police officer (and fireman) is incredible. At least you should expect some respect. They are brave people. They aren't suicidal.
AprilApple said...
I must say - I highly recommend that if you are pulled over for a routine traffic violation, just put your hands at the top of the steering wheel and wait for the police to walk to your window. It shows respect, and the cop appreciates it. DON'T hastily riffle through your glove box. Sure, your looking for papers, but the cop doesn't know that. As far as the cop thinks - You might be looking for your gun.
I've gotten out of tickets by doing this simple act of courtesy.
Depends where you are.
In The Blonde's old home town, which always fancied itself as the perfect American place to be, blacks were highly unwelcome and the cops couldn't be talked out of a ticket for love nor money. The old mayor finally made himself unpopular and a new broom has swept a lot of the tough guys out.
But, yeah, wait until you're asked before you start looking and the prowl car's computer will have it if you are concealed carry.
In the case of Alton Sterling, I saw a piece that he was stopped in a bad section of town, was a known thug, and was armed.
I think, when all the facts come out, another Freddie Gray or Michael Brown.
wow - I woke up late this AM. 5 cops dead.
Good going media.
oopsy, I'm going to disagree in part to your last comment.
I don't think it's the public that doesn't have the cops' back, it's DC.
The constant harassment from DOJ and Black Narcissus, along with the usual political vultures of the deBlasio stripe at the state and local level, has created a lethal environment, not unlike 50 years ago when SCUS said the criminals had rights.
Headline: 'Black Power group' claims responsibility for police killings and warns of more assassinations to come
April, I have related this story previously but it is a good time to do it again.
I was doing a surveillance in a pretty rough inner city neighborhood. There was, unbeknown to me at the time, a vicious rape nearby. Cop cars started flying all over. I could tell the shitbird was nearby. A young cop came up to my car w/ his gun drawn. I could FEEL the adrenaline pumping through his veins. I draped my arms over the steering wheel of my car and complied w/ "YES, SIRS" to every command. Smart black parents give that same very prudent advice to their kids. I gave it to my kids. I gave it to kids I coached and taught. It is prudent no matter your color, no matter what your age. Now, I am not saying you should comply w/ "Open you trunk." But, you respectfully decline on 4th amendment grounds
Exactly - ND. Show respect, it's not that hard. Make life easier for yourself and the cop.
That's what we DON'T know yet in the Minnesota case. Why did this cop pull his gun and shoot? What words were exchanged? That portion, is suspect, is not on tape.
Good advice from April and Spinelli. Arms on the steering wheel. Follow orders (most of them ;-). Be respectful.
It just dawned on me. We own 7 vehicles. None of them have a trunk.
Show self preservation as well.
April is correct, we do not know what transpired in St. Paul prior to the shooting. But, do you hear the voice of that cop? He had that adrenaline pumping. You could hear it in his voice. The girlfriend said the cop was a "Chinese man." In the Twin Cities, he could be Hmong.
It's important that the democrats and their media jump to conclusions and inspire more racial hatred and division and cop-hate.
oh - hey look - 5 cops dead. Good going democrats and media a-holes.
the media got it 100% wrong in Ferguson, and now cops are dying. The pro-democrat hack media, Holder and Obama all have blood on their hands.
We had snipers taking potshots at cops in Ferguson too. But not as professionaly planned as the Dallas shootings, and not as deadly effective. IIRC a .22 that pinged a couple of cops who were wearing body armor. Scary, but not like this.
Why would the shooters do this at a BLM protest march? Is it a simple motivation to revenge kill a few cops? Maybe they thought this would kickstart the revolution,to think that black people would rise up and take over Dallas? I think that cop funerals in TX will be better attended than the cop shooting vicitms will be in LA and MN. I think the cops in the two most recent cases seem trigger happy- but we do not have all facts. But neither of the vicitms look good with criminal records.
Libertairians/conservatives outlets like Reason and Cato and Hoover and the Federalist have been talking about police overreach and police militarisation for a lot longer than BLM has been around. But there is no alliance between the two groups- why not?
Police shootings of black men are not taking place in some po-dunk rural southern county with Deputy Jethro pulling over any darkies that would dare to drive in his town. The shootings are taking place in urban democrat controlled cities, where the black vote is most highly concentrated and presumably most effective in representing the needs of its black citizens. Democrat mayors hire the police chiefs, and have control of hiring and training and ROE.
At its most basic and simplistic: democrats promise good government solutions and deliver poor services. Every big city has lousy schools, lousy law enforcement, lousy city services like trash pickup and park maintence, and they get poor law enforcement. I love living in the city- but not due to government.
“The stress of being a police officer (and fireman) is incredible. At least you should expect some respect. They are brave people.”
I’m not in full support of this statement. Cops and Firemen are civil servents with powerful unions and incredible benefits. Also big on political patronage.
Yes, I’m a law and order type of guy- but I don’t put a halo on every cop. Many of whom are just bullies and jerks who dig the power.
Jim, BINGO!!
Bingo on all 3 comments.
I’m only saying that the solution is as close as the next election. Ferguson was a huge event lasting over a year, and at the next election there was a grand total of two councilmen changed. It is still all democrats in every elected office.
Some places won't change, the courts have seen to that, but Ferg will become the kind of ghost town Detroit or Camden is and so, there will be change, but not the best kind.
Thing is, people don't like being in danger, so this is bad for Cacklepants, as the Demos are the party of permissiveness. A lot of places will get the message, the rest will continue their slide into squalor.
“Ferg will become the kind of ghost town”
I’m not so sure. There were quite a few large corporations pledging support, and getting good publicity in return. Monsanto, Emerson and others. There were many others who set up scholarships for students from Ferguson- a very high dropout rate, but if a student can make it to graduation, there are tons of college dollars available.(if you are a POC) Lots of fund raisers and collections going to various vague community development groups.(mostly scams if you ask me) Churches have also done quite well. Far away congregations would take donations and send them to churches in Ferguson.
Plus the state pledged millions in redevelopment money, the county has grants and loan programs, and the feds have earmarked monies as well. About half of the burned out buildings have been either torn down or rebuilt. I can see some growth and new businesses- but mostly small scale nail salons and muffler places, and cell phone stores, and beauty supply stores.
I don’t see the millions and millions that the papers say have been ‘invested’. But maybe too soon to tell.
Concerning "respect" for cops. That there are bad ones is true, but best to default to assuming "good" until given evidence otherwise. And of course keep your hands in sight and "Yes, officer" on your lips.
But what I've seen is far too many people being all blustery (and I'm assuming that every last one of them was white) about how cops are your employees and that means that you have a right to be a complete uncooperative asshole or even harass or taunt cops to, I suppose, put them in their place.
That doesn't work well for anyone, nor should it. And the definition of "work for me" is not "I get to harass you." And recognizing that cops get shot out of the blue on traffic stops and even that dealing with belligerent idiots day in and day out can wear on a person and that being cooperative or even cheerful isn't actually that much to ask isn't pretending that all cops are wonderful angelic heroes. It's just watching out for the people who work for you.
Jim in St Louis said...
Ferg will become the kind of ghost town
I’m not so sure. There were quite a few large corporations pledging support, and getting good publicity in return. Monsanto, Emerson and others. There were many others who set up scholarships for students from Ferguson- a very high dropout rate, but if a student can make it to graduation, there are tons of college dollars available.(if you are a POC)
I submit a lot of those "large corporations" are Barry's partners in finding places for all the illegals and Moslems he (and Hillary) have imported. The corporations get kickbacks, Barry turns vast tracts of the country into Third World sewers, and all those people rot in poverty and ignorance, murdering themselves, each other, and all the blacks stuck there.
Win-win-win for the Demos.
Julie- Point taken. Of course respect is to be given, as much as you would give and expect from the postal clerk or the city assessor. I’d challenge the idea that every last black folks are too timid to be assholes to cops. No shortage of jerks of any race.
Julie Pascal said...
Concerning "respect" for cops. That there are bad ones is true, but best to default to assuming "good" until given evidence otherwise. And of course keep your hands in sight and "Yes, officer" on your lips.
But what I've seen is far too many people being all blustery (and I'm assuming that every last one of them was white) about how cops are your employees and that means that you have a right to be a complete uncooperative asshole or even harass or taunt cops to, I suppose, put them in their place.
I'd be willing to bet you find more POCs than whites with that attitude.
There are always self-important jerks and drunks, but the first words out of the average white person's mouth is usually, "Is there a problem, officer?".
But, and I'm probably going to get yelled at, a lot of blacks figure they've had a chip issued for their shoulder by the Racist In Chief and they're allowed to beat anybody they want with it because he has their back. Yes, there's a lot of good black people out there, but Pissy has always avoided the "sellouts", y'know, the ones that worked for a living and stayed out of trouble.
edutcher, the bluster has been the last few years, stupid people on the internets trying to prove how libertarian they are or something, I donno. They probably say "yes officer, no officer, thank you officer" with the best of them if they actually talk to a cop. I think it does damage though, over time, as more young people might think that this is a reasonable attitude to hold.
Libertarians are a different breed.
Lefty Democrats who want to invoke the Constitution only when it's to hang on to their money, but expect Liberty for them to mean no rules.
Having been stopped a few times over the years, I've always found the old stand-by of keep your hands in sight, no sudden movements, wait for him/her to ask for anything to be a good practice.
Got pulled over one time, cop asked if I'd waited for the arrow. I said I didn't see an arrow and asked if the cop saw one. There wasn't. She let me go.
Our duopoly sucks. The big city monopolies are black holes of violence, depravity and corruption.
People are ignorant of history. I've been waiting to hear someone, anywhere, compare the current culture of violence, hatred, lawlessness, etc. to the 1960's. And then to point out who ran on "law and order" and won the Presidency. This all plays into Trump's tiny hands. As long as he doesn't piss on both legs this issue will put him in the WH. I think he can continue to piss on one leg and still win. Just not both legs. Maybe someone needs to hold his dick to help him aim. I think we would have a couple volunteers right here, and many more throughout the country.
nd, I have been talking about '68 for months.
I remember all the dancin' in the streets fomented by Stokely Carmichael and Rap Brown. I remember Lyndon Johnson getting mobbed and shouted down. I remember how crime shot out of sight once the courts decided the criminals had rights.
And, yes, I have mentioned how Nixon benefitted from all that.
I think I did a comment yesterday or today on the subject. Maybe one each day.
I'm sure most of the people here are sick of me talking about it, but I keep bringing it up.
And I do believe I've said he can bring this home. You may not want to think so, but I think he's a lot smarter than the Choom Gang and the Ozark Mafia and all their hangers-on and acolytes combined.
That "double digit" lead someone else had seems to have vanished, hasn't it? He's even ahead on a couple. For now, he called Dallas ‘An Attack on Our Country’. Seems like he's doing it right.
ed, I missed your comments tying this to the 60's. I wonder if Ted Cruz old man is involved in this Dallas assassination conspiracy?
Don't tell April.
This morning on his FB, Trump's new theme
MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.
I'll repost this when a more appropriate subject comes up.
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