"I'd just like to know what a cop WOULD have to do to get indicted - and what good are cop cameras since Eric Garner IS on tape?"I do remember a case that was in the news here in Charlotte a few years ago of a police officer killing an unarmed black man. Read about it here, because this case closely mirrors recent events; the main difference being that there wasn't an extraordinary effort by prosecutors and police to try and shield one of their own from any consequences.
Other Charlotte police officers (here, and here) have been indicted for sex crimes.
So it apparently seems that Charlotte Mecklenburg Police are fairly accountable. Personally, I've only had excellent interactions with CMPD. "Excellent interactions" is a euphemism for getting caught with a bunch of drugs and walking away from it with no consequences because I'm white.
So way back in November of 2008, I was back in Charlotte for the weekend. My band was playing a show at Lunchbox Records that night (a Friday I believe), and per usual, this involved brown-bagging 40s and FourLoko before, during, and after we played because Plaza-Midwood used to be sketchy like that. After the show, the plan was to go to some party up near University, which at that time was not the safest place in town. I drove up there and parked near the entrance to the neighborhood to wait for some friends who I was going to follow to the house (this was before everyone had iPhones with GPS). Before I know it, I see blue lights behind me. And ironically enough, I was listening to NWA's "Fuck Tha Police" very loudly.
Yes, this really did happen.
So instead of taking the time to hide everything, I was too busy trying to switch my iPod to Hank Williams... since I figured cops like Hank? Well as the cops walked up, I decided I would just get out of the car to talk to them and maybe they wouldn't search my car.
Turns out the two cops were black. Maybe Hank wasn't the best choice. The one I talked to looked like Terry Crews with a moustache that not so subtly screamed "I made the 1970s my bitch". So basically imagine a 6'4, jacked-as-fuck Steve Harvey.
I don't know why, but I actually told the cop the truth... well, most of the truth. Admitted that I'd been drinking, that I had open containers in the car, and that there "may be some other stuff". But no guns! I promised him he wouldn't find any sort of weapon in the car as he told me that he had probable cause to search the car.
I knew what was in my car. I was about to go to jail for a long time. I also knew that making this dude's life difficult was only going to make anything else that followed much worse for me.
So in all, I had Schedules I, II, and III covered, in addition to a few open containers.
I was fucked. I didn't try to make any excuses at this point because I knew there was no way out.
But instead of cuffing me, this cop started asking me what I was doing with my life. I told him I was a freshman at UNC. I will never forget what he told me next: "Son, you've got everything in the world going for you right now, why are you killing yourself?"
I don't even know how I answered that. I just know that next, he was asking me if him taking me in would get me kicked out of school. I said something to the extent of "well I think I've got two felonies as it stands now, so yeah, I think I would get expelled". Then he asked me what I was doing in that part of town, so I told him.
He said "alright, wait for your friends, go to that party, and I better not see you driving anywhere else tonight. We only stopped because there have been a number of car jackings and assaults in this area recently, and we wanted to make sure everything was alright. A nice car in this part of town, you'd be an easy target." And then he left.
If I wasn't suffering from opiate-induced constipation, I definitely would have shit my pants at some point during this encounter. But I had clean underwear, and off I went.
I've thought about this a lot over the past 6 years. I don't know why that cop let me go. Me being white certainly had something to do with it- despite having drugs on me, I wasn't seen as a threat. Also, it probably wasn't worth the paper work. I also think that the cops' race had something to do with it as well.
Most police officers are white, and come from working-class white backgrounds (i.e., probably hold more racist views than other segments of white society). A lot of career cops only have a high school diploma, maybe a 2-year degree. These aren't the smartest guys in the world. That's why they became cops. I don't know this as a fact, but I would be willing to guess that on average, black cops are much more educated than white cops. A combination of education and experience on both sides of the legal system (experience as a young black male and experience as a law enforcement officer) give black cops a much more complete perspective to apply to their work. Let me put it this way; white cops are more likely to be white cops because they come from a long line of family who have worked in law enforcement for generations, and thus it is a career path that is virtually handed to them. In the back of their minds, they are thinking "well, if ______ doesn't pan out, I can just become a cop like my old man". Black cops? There is a lot of (COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED) distrust in the black community against police. As a black man in 21st century America, you don't just wake up one day and say "I guess I'll just be a cop". You work hard for that shit your entire life. You don't get that gun and badge because you think you're entitled to it; you get it because you earned it and you intend to use it justly to make the world a better place. You work your ass off because you know that once you reach that goal, no matter what you do, all these white people around you who just got into law enforcement for shits and giggles will just assume you got there because of affirmative action.
That being said, if I were black, I would have been arrested, regardless of the officers' respective races. Because unfortunately, being a black male in 2014 is still probable cause.
I wonder how things would be different if most cops were black?
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