The Constant Fear of Driving While Black | National Geographic

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·Nov 11, 2024

I have this a lot of police of about four times in the last sixty days. A total of five times I've been probably more than 20 times. It's more times than I care to remember. But what you do know is how a very familiar feeling comes each time I'm stopped. When I see a police officer behind me and the flashes go off or they're just driving behind me, I'm nervous.

I'm conscious of my speed limit. It's always nerve-racking for me. I stop the car, everything to pull it over. The driver looks more like one of our suspects because the wife said no. You never know what's gonna be the outcome of a traffic stop if you're a black man.

So I go through my procedures. I try to stay as calm as possible, like turning on my lights. I don't get out of the car; I make sure that my seatbelt is on right away, windows down so he can immediately see there are no weapons. My hands need to be visible. I don't immediately reach for the glovebox; I tend to have my hands on the steering wheel.

I speak to them in a respectful manner, record the badge number in my head, have the officer feel safe because they're on edge. You're on edge, and if somebody says or does the wrong thing, this could turn into something absolutely crazy in 60 seconds.

When I was being searched and humiliated by the deputy, including the private areas, my wife Erin was witnessing all this. There's an emotional psychological impact to constantly being stopped and profiled by the police department when I haven't committed any crimes.

I respect police officers; I know they have a tough job. I have no respect for bad cops. I'm a big supporter of the police department, but what I'm not a big fan of is those who take it in their own hands and are abusing their authority and abusing their power and claiming fear.

Police officers are human just like any other human beings. They can make mistakes and have biases that could affect their job and their job performance. Typically in those encounters, they are the only ones who are armed. So what are they afraid of?

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The Constant Fear of Driving While Black | National Geographic

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