What happens when you're black and you walk down the street

I may or may not be black (or yellow, white, or mixed), but when I walk and the streets aren't crowded women will usually switch their purses to their other hands or hold them closer, so if I'm carrying anything I usually will switch it over and pretend I'm protecting it from the woman. They sometimes smile at that. I don't know how many are packing heat.

In the case presented in the video, the guy wasn't doing anything illegal or even hinting at illegality, and has a nice lawsuit if he wants to pursue it.

a reply to: roadgravel

I set a realistic expectation for having been in Vegas and both downtown as well as the strip more than I can literally count times to. My folks dragged me along to be a Circus Circus kid when they played during my childhood and I picked up running out to Vegas to act like I was 21 when I turned 18. Worked too...unless you win something substantial of course.

However, as with most stories...some take the HUGE grand national picture off every street level circumstance and run a marathon with it, and some look at each on a case by case evaluation of THAT incident.

I'm a case by case guy..so if the bar is what is set to and from this incident and this city very specifically? I'd argue that's a VERY violent and VERY rough city just a few blocks off the LV Strip and the same outside the downtown 'zone'. LV cops don't play because criminals there don't play.

Then again..I'm not one to take the Anti-Cop side by default and for definite reasons. That's just me.

What happened to this guy wasn't fair and was probably racially motivated.

But that doesn't change the fact that when a cop is barking out orders
you should keep quiet and do what he says. Don't say anything at all
until he asks you a question and then say...I don't consent to any search
and I reserve my right to remain silent.

And you should especially do this when you are capturing live video.

I hate to say this but the guy who first got hassled resisted just enough
to allow the cop to do what he did and justify it. And the second guy
will get nailed with obstruction...I was laughing when he was arguing
distances with cop...I was like...Hmmm, I wonder if this is gonna end
well? lol

edit to add this thought...You know this is happening for real, everyday,
in NY City...people pushed against a wall, patted down, sometimes cuffed,
questioned, detained...and all without any probable cause. It's done
totally at the whim of the officer's discretion

I thought that might be relevant...

originally posted by: Onslaught2996

When do you stereotype? Why? Since your "supposedly" married to a black person..does this give you a free pass to be racist?

Claim what you want, but I have nothing to prove. As far as a free pass, you're free to make your own judgments of me, just as I am of these 'men.' But try as you might and scream racism all you want, the travesty that has become passed off as 'black culture' sure must make Dr. King proud, right?

So just how do you judge someone by the content of their character when every word on their video that they will soon be proudly posting to youtube includes racial slurs aimed at other black males and objectifying women? Real high-brow stuff there, right?

Be pissed all you want that these guys got hassled, as I am too. But remember that flies are drawn to #.

It says a lot about the direction of our country when these things happen and people are OK with it. Remember, you can be next. Police have been abusing power for decades and it is getting worse.

a reply to: Lipton

If the police are going to be unleashed on people because we don't agree with what they say, I would like to submit a few requests. Who do I send them to?

a reply to: Lipton
Yeah, these guys on the vid act like gangsters and rapstars, but that is just my opinion, no reason to get treated like that.
I just wonder, what if these guys on the side walk were Hells Angels, you think that cop would reacted the same way, hell no....
He just saw, an opportunity to bully this guy, probably gets a kick out of this....

I suppose it's easy to point fingers without knowing the back story....what if this "local artist" fit a description? And he didn't help his situation out by arguing with the officer either.

Personally, I'd feel more safe if I saw a clown wearing a santa hat walking down my street get stopped by the police.

People are people. You're walking down the street, you see that dude and his crew walking towards you, black, white, whatever...acting that way, it's gonna make you feel uneasy. Don't give me the B.S. that it wouldn't.

Flip side, this Cops' VERY lack of tactic is also no excuse. This was gross.

Unless this happened on the same day the Vegas officers were shot..with the suspect stating "This is a revolution". Then, all cops are going to be in NO B.S. mode. It would not be a day to test your "rights". Especially since some "rights" deserved citizens just finished blasting some cops and regular folk for no reason...

They barged into CiCi's Pizza, yelled “This is the start of a revolution!” and started firing, witnesses told police. Authorities said they stripped the dead officers of their weapons and ammunition

SOURCE


I think, when you first enter the force, you should not get a side arm. You should be partnered up with someone with years experience (and a side arm)...and you are ALWAYS first contact, in situations that don't involve a shootout.

That will teach these power hungry cops a little tact.

But remember, your government is setting a bad example on how they treat people, too...It's a true mess...

originally posted by: roadgravel
It says a lot about the direction of our country when these things happen and people are OK with it. Remember, you can be next. Police have been abusing power for decades and it is getting worse.

I've been pretty vocal regarding this in my short time here; I've been on the receiving end of their asinine reactionary macho man, gang mentality, been swarmed and had guns drawn and slammed around because my vehicle 'matched the description' of a stolen one, and seen the death of a friend and fellow cop swept under the rug thanks to the 'blue wall'.

But although I may hate 99% of the cops I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with and am acutely aware of what they are capable of getting away with does that mean I should go out of my way to be a target for their hostilities?

If doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, then explain why after 10+ seasons of COPS do people think screaming at the police will somehow change the outcome of a stop?


So now feign subservience and placate them whenever I do have contact. I don't feel like getting shot 17 times in the back.

The video says it was Mar 30, 2014.

If doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, then explain why after 10+ seasons of COPS do people think screaming at the police will somehow change the outcome of a stop?

That isn't the point. It's the fact that they were treated in a certain way for no apparent legal reason.

a reply to: roadgravel

To some people... walking down the street late at night, calling out N---- this and N---- that, making a show that could likely be heard through the cops open windows driving by? Call or no call, it IS enough to be stopped, in my opinion.

I don't think I'd have called on them myself...but if they showed signs of being intoxicated to ADD to the behavior we only see the very last bit of? (what else had gotten attention on that street, earlier?) Well, then I'd have made the call myself...and have on occasion before. Race has nothing to do with it. Unpredictable and unusual behavior has a real way of getting official attention. It makes people feel UNSAFE and mildly threatened, depending on circumstances.

This one sure succeeded in getting all the official attention the situation could have managed. Then again, maybe that was the intended point, too. There is always that to consider these days, too.

originally posted by: roadgravel
The video says it was Mar 30, 2014.

Indeed it does.
People need to learn how to talk. Jesus.

If that guy is all it takes for someone to freak out and be in fear, they better stayed locked in their house. I at one time would be shocked by this but I can see where the world is headed

I wonder if these cops have ever driven through the gang controlled neighborhoods protecting people from the bad guys?

originally posted by: FirePiston
a reply to: Onslaught2996


Umm he is cussing and being obnoxious. Then starts doing some weird thing with his body.. I would see this and think mentally unstable and perhaps that is why someone is recording him, for evidence maybe. If your going to walk around outsude in public acting a fool someone will take notice. We also do not know before the video if cops were called or not for something else that the video does not show.
Firepiston

Is it against the law to cuss? Obnoxious? Was he disturbing the peace, somehow? That's not what I saw. There's no law that says you can't record your friend walking on a sidewalk in a public place, either. I didn't see him acting out of line in any fashion, perhaps slightly goofy but again, no laws against that. The cop drove up, got out and literally arrested him for no reason.

There's also no law against acting "ghetto" or wearing stupid clothes.

It's impossible to prove whether this was racially motivated or not, but the cop was wrong either way, IMO. Total BS.

a reply to: roadgravel

We have laws against things like disturbing the peace and making a public disturbance so people DON'T HAVE to hide in their homes vs being able to walk down a street without being assaulted with the trash talk and hate slurs, or actually battered physically if they dare give a dirty look, say something or...just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment.

We have cops to enforce those laws, so we don't have to.

Now we can get rid of ALL the cops. Sure.. I already carry my own gun. I have no insecurity about my ability to enforce law within my immediate vicinity with or without a cop to help, if cops are not an option. How's that work for the other couple hundred million? 2/3rds of which...couldn't do the same for lack of ability or philosophical lack of will.

a reply to: Wookiep

I could see the officer mentioning that he needs to tone it down or he might be subject to disturbing the peace. (I'm not saying it was DTP one way or the other, but for sake of this...)

Show some respect but lay down the law. What he did was just typical cop BS. And his fellow officers were ready to join in.

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Can you point out, specifically where the guy in the video was disturbing the peace? I honestly didn't see that at all. He seemed to be pretty happy and pumped up, as he explained he just got done with a show. (I'm guessing he performed)

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

I can't see that as disturbing the peace. It's Vegas...