I spent this past New Year's Eve lying on the floor of a New England police station. Just hours before, I was enjoying sushi with my best friend Jamal; excitedly discussing his possible political appointment and promising career.
On our way home, we were pulled over for driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. Jamal was directed to perform a sobriety test although he was clearly not drunk and had explained that a back injury and current spasms would affect his performance. I got out of the car to speak with Jamal, but an officer whipped out his Taser and screamed at me to get back inside. While I tried to explain to him that I wanted to speak to Jamal as his attorney, Jamal declined a breathalyzer test because he didn't believe there was cause for an arrest. Apparently, declining the breathalyzer results in a mandatory arrest, incarceration, and a one year driver's license suspension, but cops aren't required to notify drivers of these consequences. Jamal was handcuffed and thrown into the back of the police car.
Happy New Year: My best friend was now a statistic, part of the 1 in 3 Black men who have been behind bars in this country. During the 12 hours I waited at the jail for Jamal's arraignment, I thought about how he felt locked in a cell the size of my Manhattan bathroom and about the 2.3 million people in similar cells across the country at that very moment.
At the arraignment, I was not surprised that every driver pulled over the night before was black or brown. A recent Department of Justice study found "an alarming racial disparity" in police treatment of motorists of color. Black Americans are twice as likely to be arrested during a traffic stop and nearly four times as likely to experience the threat or use of force. Cops regularly pull over black men for minor traffic infractions and then arrest them, while they let white drivers drive on. What made Jamal more likely to be pulled over and arrested than other Americans was his misfortune at being a Black man driving at night in a rich white suburb.
This system of racial profiling and using prison as a one-size-fits-all solution is one of the reasons Black communities are and will remain economically worse off than the rest of the America. More Black men are imprisoned by this country than were ever enslaved. It's bad enough that the Great Recession has affected Black men more than every other demographic, but our ever expanding prison complex is further decimating the already bleak economic future of Black America.
Jamal will suffer the repercussions of this arrest for his entire life. Without a license, he had to quit his job. After employment applications asked for arrest records, his political appointment is now in danger, a job offer from state government was suspended, and several companies cancelled interviews.
This is the legacy we leave behind for our children. Mass incarceration has systemically created an underclass of Black (and increasingly brown) citizens with fewer rights and more bitter futures than the rest of America; it really is the new Jim Crow.
Recognizing this horrific reality, the ACLU has made ending mass incarceration a top organizational priority. Black History Month is a celebration of the proud legacy of Black Americans. But it should also be a reminder to continue to fight against such injustices. Each day, as I work to eradicate this stain placed by our government onto Black history, I will be working not only for the millions of Americans incarcerated and the millions more who will be, but also for Jamal.
Some details have been altered to protect privacy.
This blog post is one of several personal testimonials written by ACLU staff members to commemorate Black History Month.
A Story Filled With Emotion And Misused Facts
It seems a man who clearly was not drunk with pending political appointment to an important position would have easily passed a breathalyzer and would know the requirements for driving.
Maybe he thought he did too much celebrating while eating sushi and that his new found political made him feel he could pull the old Kennedy move and get off with a good lawyer.
You may want to reconsider your analysis of why there are so many black men in prison or unemployed. As far as prison- It may be because when you do the crime you will do the time. Now in regards to unemployment- the lowest unemployment exist among those with degrees or tech certifications regardless of race. Don't you think that when you consider that there are a higher percentage of blacks without a HS diploma may contribute to their own unemployment and their profession of crime?
Lastly in case you haven't heard the public service ad- Buzz driving is drunk driving.
Warm regards,
Michael Winters
1) The author has neither the training nor experience to determine whether her friend was drunk or not. Performing a standard field sobriety test will quickly determine whether it was a back injury or muscle spasms that caused your friend to act like a drunk.
2) You have no right to argue with an officer while he is performing a traffic stop. If he or she orders you to wait in the vehicle, you must comply with his lawful order.
3) When you apply for a drivers license, one of the conditions is mandatory submittal to a breath or blood test. This is stated on almost every drivers' test.
BTW; your complaint of racial profiling isn't even valid. Your friend was legitimately pulled over for a traffic violation, and legitimately arrested.
Many African-Americans have worked incredibly hard to succeed in the law enforcement field. Comparing their job to Jim Crow just because your friend was arrested is insulting and demeaning.
Each New Year there is a flood of public service announcement warning not to drink and drive. This is the time of the year that the police are most vigilant in trying to remove from the highways drivers who have been drinking. This police initiative is directed towards the general public and not to entrap Black men. Do you have evidence to the contrary? Jamal’s stop was legal because he was speeding and got caught. The official request to take a sobriety test was also legal. Based upon your experience you had to have known the legal consequences of his refusing to take the test. If he had not been drinking he should have taken the test, passed it and, probably, he would have gone on his way. Had Jamal been drinking? Is it your argument that your friend was stopped because he was Black?
This post fails to state what, if anything, Jamal was charged with. I assume that if the case is still pending that you will testify on his behalf. He had or will have his day in court. I think this poor chap is a victim of his friend's poor judgment that allowed him to get behind the wheel when had been drinking.
1) Why did you have to get out of the car? You should have stayed in the car and let Jamal handle his business.
2) Driving 37 in a 25 mph zone is similar to driving 83 in a 55 mph speed zone. Rather excessive. Did you point out this fact in your narrative in an attempt to seek pity form the readers? You should have left that information out.
3) You did not indicate if Jamal was drinking prior to the arrest. You said “ … he was clearly not drunk and had explained that a back injury and current spasms would affect his performance.”
So are you saying that he was drinking prior to being stoped BUT not enough to be drunk?
Basically, you can argue that being in that suburb, he was carjacked by the police. They just have power vested in them, where as those African-Americans (LOL) have taken power for themselves.
If those "young African-Americans" (cracks me up, if you removed African it would just be young Americans and would sound silly, and would imply that they were what? White or born in on the continent or US citizens? Would you find reason to give their nationality then?) had become police officers. Who do you think they would let go? Who do you think they would stop? Just curious?
Do you think blacks are the only people who can be vindictive public servants? Or, that the majority of white police officers are just "following orders" and doing their job? Protecting the streets from drunk speedsters going 40 mph in a neighborhood?
The law was applied as it should have been.....whine all you want !!!
1.Immediately start video recording on your cell phone. (This was upheld on appeal in New England)
2.State on advice of council you have NO comment. (be polite, but clear)
3.State that on advice of council you can not submit to any field sobriety tests (These are designed to fail, regardless of actions)
4. Do not agree to take any portable chemical breathalyzers from cruisers.
5. Agree to have blood taken at a hospital or a breathalyzer at he police station. (They are more accurate and takes time to get set up)
6. After and hour or two depending on how you feel, either take (remember one drink per hour leaves your system) or DO NOT TAKE. (you will lose license for 6 months BUT will not have a conviction) (At court they have no proof, no statements, no sobriety tests, no chemical tests)
7. (This is the hard part) YOU WILL BE ARRESTED. But with a lawyer, you WILL WIN at court.
The bottom line when pulled over, video tape, be prepared to be arrested, take NO tests, make NO comments, and WIN at court.
HAPPENS EVERY DAY TO THOSE WHO KNOW THE SYSTEM. Arrest procedure and conviction are two completely separate issues. One is a hassle for the day, the other for a lifetime.