[Yorkiemom1]

My brother and I are white ....years ago, like back early 70s, he was in a car with 4 other young men....(my brother and I have been raised to respect adults, period! That includes police officers....we have never sassed our parents or most certainly no other adult, especially anyone in authority, always "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am")..... The car was pulled over and the two officers told the boys to get out of the car....two of the boys were black.....they did EXACTLY as instructed.....spoke only when spoken to, never assumed belligerent or challenging posture or attitude......no sassy, "dont disrespect me" attitude displayed by any of these boys.....the police detained them for over 40 minutes because the light on the license plate was burned out....they were patted down, the officers COMPLETELY disassembled the car, took the seats out, pulled the carpet up, etc!!! and then when they were satisfied this car load of polite young men had nothing on them or in the car, they left them there alone to put the car back together, in the dark ....

One of the problems today, people do not think they have to tolerate being stopped by the police for ANY reason....it is REAL common for a lot of them to immediately start getting sassy or start challenging the officer for stopping them. They start trying to outline what THEIR "rights" are....."I dont have to do this, I dont have to do that", I aint doing that and you cant make me"..... NOT smart.....answer questions asked, be polite and not indignant.....these people, regardless how "right" they think they are, just need to do as you are told, stay civil, and then fight it in court. You have no idea what that officer just ran into or dealt with 30 minutes before he stopped you. But it runs against alot of people's grain to even consider being respectful to an officer....they cop an attitude, get jiggy, start hollering, threatening, may even bolt and run, simply because they think they are too important to have to deal with the police.....they consider the police and that particular encounter, an "infringement" on their "self importance" and time. People need to realize they are not one bit more important than the police officer or anyone else....act like you respect the officer and you will like wise be respected.

The number of way ward, outlaw officers on any given police force is negligible, especially when compared to the number of law breakers running the streets. Every single police officer has just as much right to expect to be safe when encountering individuals, as those individuals have. Problems arise when people dont follow instructions, break and run, get smart mouthed, start yelling and cussing and throw out attitude, start reaching inside jackets or pockets or purses or under seats.....regardless of what color or nationality you are, just treat that officer like you would want him to treat you....treat them with respect and be polite and do as asked/told/instructed to do, without getting an attitude. You treat these officers with the same respect and fairness that you expect from them, and there will be no issues. You have a problem with the stop or the officer, just take his name (not all "up in your face, hollering, screaming, threatening and spitting, I will sue you and the entire State" attitude)and then take care of the issue you have when you get your lawyer to fight the ticket the officer issues you.

Police officers have every much a right to expect to conduct a safe encounter as anyone that is stopped has the right to a safe interaction with that officer. Respect gains respect....if you instill in your kids the notion that police officers are out to get them or do them harm if they are ever stopped, that is deliberately setting up a bad situation. As long as people treat officers with respect, they have no problems...but that seems to be the issue now days....people seem to think police are the enemy, do not "deserve" respect, and should be sassed, disrespected, and they instigate foul mouthed encounters with them, then get all "Man hey what happened???" attitude when the officer addresses their bad behavior. As far as waiting until they can ascertain that the person with his hand in his waistband, is not going to pull out a gun and shoot him.....that police officer has just as much right to live as the person they are encountering....if you are stopped by an officer, and they are telling you to keep your hands up, and you are full of attitude and loud mouthed belligerence and reaching inside your jacket, or pants, or purse, or under the car seat, you can pretty well expect to get shot, with a gun or a taser, as well you should be....your life is not one drop of blood more important than the officer's life is.....dont instigate a situation where you might get shot, and you wont get shot. THAT is what I teach my own son....especially, statistically a fact, since there are more of our white sons shot by police officers than black sons, my son has been taught not to fear police, but how to be respectful and follow instructions and do EXACTLY what you are told to do, when you are told to do it, if you are ever in an encounter with an officer.

#policelivesmatterequally