What it does sound like to me is the unending oppressive abuse of power that I've experienced many times before! Let's take a look at the scene....a man who's dressed in a suit, who has his wife and 2 month old baby with him, heading home after picking up dinner, wasn't speeding, didn't make an illegal turn, didn't run a red light, and who gave the officers no attitude whatsoever....why threaten said man with being arrested for having an expired tag? Did that man have anything in his background when you ran his ID that would suggest that you need to be that aggressive with him? Did he make any kind of snide remark to you...such as calling you a pig? Did he call you a donut wrangler? Did he cause any kind of commotion or make a scene? NO! He pulled over as soon as you said to, he gave you his ID, insurance, etc. upon request. All he did was follow your instructions.
Did I get a ticket last night??? NO...why? Because the Altamonte Springs Police Department is more about trying to build a reputation about themselves that they can do WHATEVER they want....WHENEVER they want! It's these kinds of things that make people not like the police. Granted, I know they do serve a purpose, but harassing people, wasting their time, and threatening them isn't called for! He had my family sitting in our car for close to 40 minutes last night as they ran my license....and checked my background and continued to ask me stupid questions...they even went so far as to come to the front of my vehicle to check the VIN number to make sure that I hadn't stolen the vehicle....ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So it's not enough that my name is on the insurance for this vehicle, or that my name is on the registration....YOU STILL HAVE TO "CHECK" TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T STEAL THIS VEHICLE??? GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT NONSENSE!!! Looking at me and my FAMILY....I really look like I fit the profile of a car thief??? Seriously? I'm just thankful that my 2 month old son isn't old enough to know what happened last night? And only hope that as he gets older, he won't have to deal with the profiling that his father has had to deal with throughout his life!Stay safe out there.....Big brother isn't watching.....BUT THE POLICE ARE!!!
UPDATE:
Shockingly (not really) the police are at it again, harassing black people for no reason except this time it's not the Altamonte Springs Police Department....it's the Casselberry Police Department. I won't even bother trying to explain what happened. Just know it's way worse than the detaining my family and I faced back when my son was 2 months old. I think the video footage will speak for itself.
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh3kEqo5SGzrR7G0c5
Once again this shows that it doesn't matter if you know the law, or even if the police are committing a crime. If you're black....you're presumed guilty until proven innocent. Notice how once they've tasered him a couple times and he's then cuffed and on the ground, the police officer then sees that the black man who was minding his business is carrying a weapon.
Throughout the whole video the weapon was never shown, never brandished or anything like that. He's a licensed gun owner and has a license to carry a concealed weapon. So it's not like he had his gun out and the cops were reacting to seeing someone with a gun out. Like this video....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPcvSsvEt2c
So not only was this white man reported as walking with his gun out, but upon the cops attempting to search him and seize his gun...a supervisor was called and the supervisor put an end to the unnecessary harassment and let the gentleman go on about his business.
My question is, why is there such a disparity between how whites and blacks are treated by the police? Someone called the cops about this white man walking with his gun out and was let go. The black man was questioned about crossing the street without having a "walk now" light. Did he really commit a crime? No, the first officer said himself he committed an infraction....and then proceeded to assault the victim by using a taser on him and attempting to arrest him. How can you charge him with resisting arrest when initially you said he wasn't under arrest and you just wanted his ID?
This is just another example of the Central Florida Police Department's abuse of their power in an attempt to strengthen their reputation in the community! The police officer followed his "suspect" across the street and waited for him to leave from cashing his check at Amscot and then began questioning him for NO REASON! Is this the society we have to live in? That a black man who's working, paying his taxes, and generally being a good citizen can be questioned, tased, and detained illegally just because a cop decides that he looks suspicious?
Being that I live in Central Florida....this increasing problem scares me, and has me wondering what kind of future my son will have if the police who are supposed to be "serving & protecting" can do as they please with little recourse to hold them accountable.
All the man asked was for the cop to provide him a statute requiring him to provide his identification...and the cop didn't even feel that he was required to do so. Which according to 2012 Florida Statute 856.021, The only time it's lawful for a police officer to demand/request someone's identification is when they're are loitering or prowling in a particular place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, or if the person takes flight upon the arrival of police on the scene.
No where in the entire statute does it REQUIRE an individual to identify themselves. Especially if they're told up front that they've done nothing wrong. Police ARE NOT lawfully allowed to request ID from someone in order to "rule out" that they've been involved in any criminal activity. There MUST BE suspicion of a criminal act having taken place, or proof that criminal activity is currently taking place.
I guess it's not enough to be black and know your rights anymore! Because at this time it really doesn't matter because even when we're right as black people....we're still getting tased!
The officers involved here probably won't receive any disciplinary action and will continue to harass any black person whom they care to! The worst of all is that requesting a supervisor to be called to the scene doesn't even get considered by these cops as something that's necessary on their part.
J. Earl Smith
knourworth@hotmail.com
@JSmith2523 on Twitter
www.smashwords.com/books/view/24495
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