A traffic stop in Norfolk, Virginia, could have quickly taken a dangerous turn after white cops stopped a Black driver for apparently trying to give an acquaintance a ride home. The entire ordeal was caught on cellphone video and shows that while the driver was exasperated, he kept his cool and managed to drive away, frustrated, but alive.
The video, posted on the YouTube channel The Freeman Channel, shows how the entire traffic stop unfolded.
The man had gone to a Ziggy’s restaurant just before closing to get a takeout order. He’s well-known at the eatery, and as he was leaving, a restaurant worker and another person approached him from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store and asked for a ride home. The driver first said no, but when the pair offered him money, the driver agreed.
That’s when the situation went south. Unbeknownst to the driver, two police officers were watching the exchange from a nearby cruiser. They would later claim thought it was a drug deal. They pulled him over, questioned him, and demanded that he get out of the car and allow a search.
Here’s part of the exchange.
After the cops pulled the car over, one of them asked, “How ya’ll know each other?”
The driver had his hands up while shaking his head.
Driver: “How can we help you?”
Cop: “I just asked a very simple question.”
Driver: “Yeah, we said how can we help you? We’re not doing anything. You’re literally wasting your time.”
Cop: “OK, so you picked him at 7-Eleven.”
Driver: “No, I was at 7-Eleven.”
Cop: “Yeah, and you picked him up.”
Driver: “Yeah, I seen him and he asked for a ride.”
Passenger: “I work at Ziggy’s.”
Cop: “So what did ya’ll exchange?”
Passenger: “We didn’t exchange nothing.”
Driver: “You did give me something.”
Cop: “You gave him something, and he put it in his left pocket.”
Driver: “I did. You want to go in my left pocket? Yeah, go ahead in my left pocket.”
Cop: “Step out for me.”
Driver: “No, I don’t want to do that.”
Cop: “Ok, you have to. Pennsylvania v Mimms says you have to.”
Driver: “Why would I have to?” as the cop opens the car door
Cop: “Because that’s the case law.”
Driver: “Is my phone off? Case law for what? What do you suspect me of?”
Cop: “I will explain that to you once you step out of the car.”
Driver: “You’re saying that, but you’re forcing me out of the car. Right? I don’t want to get out.”
Cop: “But so then you’ll go to jail for obstruction.”
Driver: “For obstructing what?”
Cop: “You’re obstructing my investigation.”
Driver: “What are you investigating? What do you suspect me of?”
Cop: “I’m going to ask you to step out of the car one more time.”
Driver: “You suspect me of a crime?”
Cop: “Yes, absolutely.”
Driver: “What crime?”
Cop: “Reasonable suspicion that you guys did an exchange.”
Driver: “Exchange of what, for what?”
The cop then threatens the driver, “Do me a favor, unhook your seatbelt and step out of the car, or I’m going to take you out of the car.”
The driver complies with the request, shaking his head as he comments that he doesn’t have a choice. “I don’t have anything on me. You’re literally wasting your time,” he tells the officers.
The two cops lead the driver away, toward their cruiser, out of sight of the cellphone video
The second cop comes back to the car with his flashlight on to search the inside of the vehicle, asking the two passengers if they have anything in their pockets and demanding to inspect a pack of cigarettes.
Both passengers told the cop they had given him money for the ride, which is what the driver was putting into his pocket.
“We gave him $10 so we could get a ride.”
You can hear the driver, still outside the vehicle, insisting to the cop that the passengers gave him $10.
The cops, realizing there were no drugs or illegal activity underway, eventually let the trio drive away.
One of the officers references the 1977 Supreme Court case Pennsylvania v. Mimms as justification for ordering the driver out of the car. The ruling allows police to order a driver out of a car during a traffic stop and conduct a pat-down if they fear for their safety. The court ruling decided the actions do not violate Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.
The entire incident sure appeared like a major incident of harassment.
And the comments on BP Cast’s YouTube page, where it was reposted, reflected that.
BP Blast: “Being a good Samaritan will get you harassed by police officers,” BP Cast observed.
“These officers really thought that this was a drug deal,” he told his viewers..
“God forbid someone use an Uber or a Lyft in front of these cops. Giving someone something is illegal now,” one viewer said.
“This is exactly how the Drug War directly affects every single person in America, even if you don’t do drugs,” another said.
Great Job Shelby E. & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
