RIDING WHILE BLACK PASSENGER

Lesson 3: Street Lawyer

Using Proper Etiquette When You are Speaking to Police

(Taken from the above page 39 chapter of A Black Mans Guide To Law Enforcement In America)The number one complaint that citizens file against police officers is for verbal abuse. In most cases, the incident occurred during the course of a motor vehicle stop. Often, the citizen reports that he was pulled over “for no reason,” and the officer began to yell at him “for no reason” and then began to harass and insult him “for no reason.” The irony is that most of these complaints are filed after a citizen has been arrested during that motor vehicle stop. And, when the Internal Affairs Division begins to investigate the case, the investigator finds that, in most cases, the citizen became loud and rowdy with the officer, which led to the officer arresting the citizen for disorderly conduct or interfering with a police investigation.

In all cases like this, the charges are classified as a misdemeanor and could have been avoided if the citizen had utilized one basic but valuable tool, courtesy. Yes, believe it or not, it is often a person’s ego that gets him a free ride to detention. Historically, most circumstances that have involved conflict between police and young African-American and Latino/Hispanic males have been the result of a “failure to communicate” by all parties. What you need to know is if the police come up short on communication skills, it will not result in the officer going to jail. You will be the one to pay the price! So pay close attention!

Has this happened to you?

(Taken from Page 66): You may have a passenger(s) in the car and it is very important that you keep your passenger(s) under control. Why? A bad passenger can cost you a lot of money and points on your license. One reason is because when an officer stops you for a motor vehicle violation, he/she is really only concerned with what you did. But if you have a passenger who is getting smart and saying inappropriate things to the officer or is doing stupid stuff like interrupting the officer while he is talking, then your passenger will escalate what would have been a basic motor vehicle stop to an investigative detention in which you and your smarty pants passenger will both be on the verge of an arrest.

So what is the preferred behavior for a passenger? I suggest that all passengers follow the same procedures that I previously recommended for a driver. The exception being, the passenger does not have to volunteer information or identification unless he is asked. In the meantime he/she should remain calm and sit still. Sit still! Sit still! And keep his hands in an area in plain view of the officer. In addition, when the officer is talking to the driver, the passenger should be very attentive to what the officer is saying. And never turn around and look behind.

This book is he ONLY “straight talk manual to interactions between police and urban males -Chicago Tribune. “The complete guide to addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact–DMC”-Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and the United States Department of Justice, Author, Shafiq R,F, Abdussabur’s, philosophy of educating youth and police about their respective perceptions has been nationally recognized by the Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and the United States Department of Justice as one of the most important concepts in reducing DMC in the present day American Criminal Justice System. PBS documentary “Color of Justice.”