From a brown skinned woman in NYC, to a friend of mine who also lives there:
I just wanted to let you know that today I was detained by 4 NYPD officers for half an hour under the pretext of obstructing seats on the subway because my leg was outstretched.
I refer to this as a "pretext" because it was clear that the reason I was detained was to run a warrants check on me for a racial reason. Under the Constitution, we have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and when an officer takes you aside and takes your identification from you, it is considered a seizure. Technically, the police can run a warrants check on anyone they catch violating the law, but often they use the violation as an excuse to check for outstanding warrants/terrorist information on the person. If it is obvious that the true reason to stop the person is race/ethnicity, then it is an unconstitutional search/seizure.
So the reason for my email is two-fold: 1) to educate you on your rights and 2) to warn you that in the after-math of the recent tragedy in Madrid, we should expect to be stopped for stupid things like this. Therefore, be very careful in the
coming weeks--obey ALL traffic rules if you drive, don't jaywalk, don't litter, and of course, don't put your feet up in the subway. If you do get stopped, don't argue with the cop, but take notice of whether other, non-colored people are being stopped for the same behavior or not. If it is apparent that the stop is just racially motivated, then you may have a good foundation to fight the ticket.
[I've been meaning to blog about my increased racialization over time (predating but accelerated by 9/11) as well as my increased proficiency at "Stepin Fetchit" and "Angry Dark man", but not tonight. I'm not posting this in outrage, nor am I making claims that this is widespread, nor am I commenting on it. I'm simply passing this snippet along to inform and share.
p.s. if you comment, please use my handle "Ennis" rather than my name or initials.]
| New York City | Subway | Civil Liberties | Security | Police |
re: madrid.
i was horrified as soon as i read "...and two indians" when they discussed whom they detained. and now this little snippet of doom. sigh.
still, i'll never forget the night in 2002 that i was hopelessly lost at the WTC site...and four NYPD officers went out of their way to escort me to the Holland Tunnel.
my inner cynic tells me that such kindness would probably not get extended my way post-madrid...now that "we're" terrorists, too.
Comment #1 :: link :: March 15, 2004 06:02 AMwut tha fcukk is this site all abouytt? =S
Comment #2 :: link :: December 11, 2005 04:59 PM
