Black people afraid to call the police because of fear of police brutality?

[lpetrich]

Safer Streets: Design is Better Than Enforcement | Pedestrian Observations by Alon Levy. He says about enforcement,

It is especially important to come up with solutions that do not rely on extensive human enforcement in the US, because of its longstanding problem with police brutality and racism. The expression “driving while black” is common in the US, due to bias the police in the US (and Canada) exhibits against black people. In Europe, even when bias against certain minorities is as bad as in the US, overall police brutality levels are lower in the US by factors ranging from 20 to 100 (see for example data here). In my Twitter feed, black American urbanists express reluctance to so much as call the police on nonviolent crime, fearing that cops would treat them as suspects even if they are the victims. When it comes to urban traffic safety – and so far, Vision Zero in the US is an urban movement – this is compounded by the fact that blacks and other minorities are overrepresented in the cities.

This means that, in the special conditions of US policing, it’s crucial to prevent Vision Zero from becoming yet another pretext for Driving While Black arrests. As it happens, it does not require large changes from best practices in Europe, because those best practices do not involve extensive contact between traffic police and drivers.

I've bolded a part that I want to emphasize.

All you defenders of police brutality here, is that what you want to see happening? If not, then what would you do to change that situation? Preferably without whining about what victims white people are.

 

[Valjean]

Even white people are reluctant to call the police. Call for help with a domestic disturbance and someone may end up getting shot.

 

[JonA]

All you defenders of police brutality here, is that what you want to see happening?

Who here are "defenders of police brutality"?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

should it be "defenders of murders by police" instead?

 

[whichphilosophy]

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

A black woman called 911 because she was afraid of a police officer. A violent arrest followed.

Nervous and distraught, Earledreka White did the only thing she thought she could to allay her fears after being stopped by a police officer in Houston: She called 911 to report the traffic stop and asked for police backup.

White’s voice was so shaky that she stuttered when trying to give the emergency dispatcher their location, a medical plaza parking lot outside the Loop 610 near downtown Houston. Next to her stood an officer with Houston’s Metro Police Department, waiting while she made the call in the doorway of her sedan.

“He’s saying I crossed over a solid line and I did not,” White told the dispatcher. “I got out of the car to ask him what the offense was. He raised his voice at me and threatened to arrest me. So I’m really confused. And I would like another officer to come out here.

“My heart is racing. I’m really afraid.”

- - - Updated - - -

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

A black woman called 911 because she was afraid of a police officer. A violent arrest followed.

Nervous and distraught, Earledreka White did the only thing she thought she could to allay her fears after being stopped by a police officer in Houston: She called 911 to report the traffic stop and asked for police backup.

White’s voice was so shaky that she stuttered when trying to give the emergency dispatcher their location, a medical plaza parking lot outside the Loop 610 near downtown Houston. Next to her stood an officer with Houston’s Metro Police Department, waiting while she made the call in the doorway of her sedan.

“He’s saying I crossed over a solid line and I did not,” White told the dispatcher. “I got out of the car to ask him what the offense was. He raised his voice at me and threatened to arrest me. So I’m really confused. And I would like another officer to come out here.

“My heart is racing. I’m really afraid.”

 

[lpetrich]

should it be "defenders of murders by police" instead?

Yes, that also.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Not to take anything away from the point of your op but, who isn't reluctant to call police? And to a degree this is by design. If we had nice friendly cops, they'd be called for everything under the sun.
But to the point, technology can and hopefully will solve the issues that arise with human contact.
Self driving vehicles will go a long way in cutting down on conflicts between police and civilians. Moreover, this will lessen the police workload which in turn should cut down on their stress levels still further cutting down on conflicts.
Less human contact, that's what this world needs.

 

[Angry Floof]

Yes, bootlicking right wing authoritarian followers certainly do want to see their hated out groups punished and afraid. Yes, they do.

 

[Mumbles]

should it be "defenders of murders by police" instead?

Well, let's not forget incidents like MkKinney, Texas, where that cop did a barrel roll, threw a bikini-wearing teenaged girl to the ground, and put her knee in their back. Some folks defended that, too.

Anyway, the advise going around is to never call 911 for a medical emergency, and to call the local fire department instead, if you know that you live with someone with a disability.

Of course, I have no idea what to do if you, say, get your car stolen, as the series of tweets in this link shows.

 

[Derec]

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[SimpleDon]

Not to take anything away from the point of your op but, who isn't reluctant to call police? And to a degree this is by design. If we had nice friendly cops, they'd be called for everything under the sun.
But to the point, technology can and hopefully will solve the issues that arise with human contact.
Self driving vehicles will go a long way in cutting down on conflicts between police and civilians. Moreover, this will lessen the police workload which in turn should cut down on their stress levels still further cutting down on conflicts.
Less human contact, that's what this world needs.

It is not that the police aren't friendly. They are justifiably afraid when they make a traffic stop or when they are called to a home or business, because of the number of guns possessed by the civil population, coupled with the belief by the police of an ever increasing number of shootings of the police by civilians. This seems to be the core of the problem in my opinion.

 

[laughing dog]

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course you blame #BLM. At least you are not blaming the Black Panthers.

And, of course, it is the #BLM movement over the last 20 years that has transformed police procedure and protocols that help to cause these spates of shooting unarmed civilians who pose no danger to anyone.

It is a blemish on US society that any group is afraid to call the police for help. And, like it or not, in practical terms, not ideological or utopian terms, it is mainly up to the police in those areas to come up with methods to engender the trust that has been lost if they wish to be truly effective.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

What page of the driver's manual is that on?

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I blame bad policing and racial profiling for hostility against police.

Also their "we are at war" mentality. Displays of power like this are threatening, not reassuring.

 

[RavenSky]

That reminds me of this one I read a few weeks ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

It is not against the law to get out of your car at a traffic stop; therefore no excuse for arresting her.

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course you blame the victim, blacks in general and #BLM in particular. I suspect you blame #BLM for your intestinal gas too

 

[coloradoatheist]

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

It is not against the law to get out of your car at a traffic stop; therefore no excuse for arresting her.

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course you blame the victim, blacks in general and #BLM in particular. I suspect you blame #BLM for your intestinal gas too

Except her better option and that would have been okay is just ask the police officer when the court date is, say "Have a good day" and then gone and argued her case before the judge. No reason to call 911 and she was dumb to get out of the car.

 

[Treedbear]

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

It is not against the law to get out of your car at a traffic stop; therefore no excuse for arresting her.
...

If he told her to stay in the car or get back in the car and she didn't she can be arrested. But if he didn't then being out of the car is not illegal. But the officer and probably most rational people would consider it to be either confrontational or being extremely naive about what the officer would want you to do. That said, about 20 years ago I got pulled over on a suburban street for a minor violation. I got out thinking it would be helpful and courteous and he yelled at me to get back in the car. They should really teach this stuff in driver ed and make it part of the test. These days we need better police training but I think we need to educate people on what they're now "supposed" to do. Now that I'm thinking about it I wonder whether I should even try to dig out my license and registration for the officer. If he sees me looking around while he's still in his car he might suspect I'm getting out a gun or something. Yeah I'm getting kind of scared of calling the police. Especially with their tendency to use the taser.

ETA: About two years ago I got a ticket for not completely stopping at a stop sign. I tried to be courteous and get it over with so I didn't ask any questions. He gave me a ticket but explained it could have been for a higher fine and actually apologized for the fact that there were a lot of complaints about cars from the neighborhood lately and they were on a campaign to write some tickets. That left me feeling pretty good about it.

 

[RavenSky]

Except her better option and that would have been okay is just ask the police officer when the court date is, say "Have a good day" and then gone and argued her case before the judge. No reason to call 911 and she was dumb to get out of the car.

Not surprised that you are also blaming the victim, but your opinion contributes nothing.

She had every right to request additional police if she was concerned about the actions/behavior/intentions of the police officer who pulled her over. Women are, in fact, specifically advised to do that if they feel any sense of concern; and any rational police officer will not take offense. We know that some police officers have been unnecessarily violent and have even killed innocent people at traffic stops. People have been arrested without cause (as happened here); women have been sexually assaulted by police officers.

The person who had the responsibility here to say "Have a good day" as he issued the ticket is the police officer, not the woman.

 

[coloradoatheist]

Except her better option and that would have been okay is just ask the police officer when the court date is, say "Have a good day" and then gone and argued her case before the judge. No reason to call 911 and she was dumb to get out of the car.

Not surprised that you are also blaming the victim, but your opinion contributes nothing.

She had every right to request additional police if she was concerned about the actions/behavior/intentions of the police officer who pulled her over. Women are, in fact, specifically advised to do that if they feel any sense of concern; and any rational police officer will not take offense. We know that some police officers have been unnecessarily violent and have even killed innocent people at traffic stops. People have been arrested without cause (as happened here); women have been sexually assaulted by police officers.

The person who had the responsibility here to say "Have a good day" as he issued the ticket is the police officer, not the woman.

Her complaint was that she didn't do anything wrong so she got out of the car to complain. This upset the cop because you now have a confrontational person. She should have just said I disagree, when is the court date.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

You are not supposed to exit a vehicle unless told to do so. Whether you are black or White.

It is not against the law to get out of your car at a traffic stop; therefore no excuse for arresting her.

As far as the overall issue, I blame #BLM (and black radicalism/nationalism in general) for fomenting hostility toward police. Had White not reacted with paranoia toward police in the first place, she would never had been arrested. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course you blame the victim, blacks in general and #BLM in particular. I suspect you blame #BLM for your intestinal gas too

I try to look at this from outside the bubble. I see a number of players that are not helping the situation.

• Bad cops. A cop that was let go by the Independence (suburb of Cleveland) Police Department for lacking the maturity and stability for being an officer, is hired by Cleveland PD and then acts recklessly and kills a minor who was not brandishing anything at the time of arrival.
• Unpolicing Police. The shooting in South Carolina involved a fleeing man who was shot in the back. The officer then plants his taser on the dead man to help create a narrative that wouldn't see him be put behind bars for manslaughter. Another officer appears to have seen this planting occur, but did nothing about it. Officer gets away with this until video is released.
• Violent shooting victims. Some of the shooting victims engaged in conduct that was clearly endangering police officers
• Some non-violent victims. Some of the victims have been guilty of behavior that wasn't wise. I'll call it childish, non-adult like behavior. Sometimes you need to rise above the situation and be the one that keeps a lid on things. Some of these people failed. This doesn't justify being killed or harmed, however, it does add to the context of the events.
• Some families of shooting victims. I can't help but get the feeling that some of the families are looking for payouts with the shootings, and they could care less about the loss. I watch a lot of soccer and know dives when I see them.
• White Racist Mofos (WRM). Online assholes that are egging on Trump's bullshit "Law and Order" crap.
• Antagonistic blacks (AB). The word to describe these people would be appropriately "thugs". Often WRM will lump most blacks into this group, but they are just being assholes. However, this subset of blacks are like soccer hooligans. They want to cause trouble, burn something, steal something. ABs and WRMs feed off of each other.
• Media. When is the last time the media ever fucking helped a situation through impartial reporting? Reporting never seems to be complete. They don't separate cases where police violence was necessary verses when it was a gray area verses when it was criminal. By not giving any perspective to any of these cases, this leaves the ignorant public to draw their own conclusions.

 

[RavenSky]

Her complaint was that she didn't do anything wrong so she got out of the car to complain. This upset the cop because you now have a confrontational person. She should have just said I disagree, when is the court date.

Coulda shoulda woulda - you are still blaming the victim. The fact remains that this police officer is the one who has the higher responsibility to not abuse his power/authority/badge like he did. HE is the one who should have just issued the ticket and left. HE did not need to escalate. By doing so, he simply proved that her concerns about him were well founded.