I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist's and was on my way home. Two short turns from the office and I faced a traffic light. The light was red but the cross traffic had not started up yet and I made a right turn in front of it and took off.
As I did so, I noticed a police car in the next street take off behind me. It followed me through my next turn and then I saw its red and blue lights flashing behind me. I pulled over and was given a ticket for driving right through a stop sign. The officer said that the city had erected stop signs at that intersection and others to prevent straight drives through, of the very kind I had just done. He noted that section of highway is the most accident-heavy one in the area and I know he is right.
I read this morning that Sandra Bland, a woman in Texas, was arrested and jailed for changing lanes while driving without signaling. She was later found dead in her cell.
I haven't been paying much attention to the Bland case but being stopped this morning for was is probably a more serious violation than Sandra Bland committed got my attention. I didn't know much about the situation but reading the novel "Superior Justice" by Tom Hilpert at the same time several serious or actually lethal instances of black citizens being stopped, arrested and later dying in police custody in other parts of the US has made me realize how much can happen during traffic stops by police.
Locally, we had a case a couple of years ago of a traffic stop that resulted in the officer being shot in the abdomen several times. I think he survived. The police don't know who they are stopping, what sort of mood the driver is in, what his or her record is like, nor what weapons and such are in the car. I just read that the Bland cop told her to extinguish her cigarette as he approached her. She asked why she had to extinguish her cigarette when she was in her own car.
A burning cigarette, a lighter and many other things can be weapons, or used as momentary distractions. In the moments the officer approaches the car, I think it is best not to make sudden movements, not to get out of the car unless told to do so and generally to do what one is told when told. The point is to present no danger or risk and not to appear to present dangers or risks.
On the other hand, my parents, grandparents, siblings, relatives, neighbors and friends have not been picked on or hassled by the police. I read this morning that Sandra Bland was an activist and she may well have heard plenty about mistreatment of blacks by police. It is easy in a secluded spot for words or actions from either party to insult and inflame and later to ignore or actually to forget what was done and when.
This matter of police handling of others is certainly undergoing scrutiny and I think it should. I am pretty sure the whole business can be improved.
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