Monday, October 26, 2009
The Law or Racial Profiling????
Someone please tell me if I missed something. But has anyone ever been ordered to display their ss card while being stopped for speeding? The last I checked it was your license that needed to be displayed. Does a police officer have the right or are they allowed to do whatever they want? I don't know about anyone else, but I have NEVER. Someone please let me know if you or someone that you know may have had this experience. I wouldn't have believed it until a family member was stopped for speeding yesterday and was asked to display or recite his ss#. WHAT? What was the officer going to do...run his credit? But what was even more upsetting was when he he asked the question "why do you need or want my ss#" the officer told him to step out of the car, cuffed him, and had him sit on the median where traffic was flowing heavily while he ran his license and tags and told him he was going to arrest him for not cooperating with an officer of the law. WOW. I hate to say it, but I can almost bet that the fact that this party was a very young black man, wearing dreads, driving a beautiful car, had something to do with this SS# request; Especially since the officer also asked where he worked and his answer was that he didn't. I don't EVER recall an officer asking me where I worked while being stopped for speeding. Now It really erks me that rasicm still exsists, but it does...just not as much. However, I didn't think that racial profiling would be made so obvious by a police officer, at least not in Maryland. Was it or wasn't it? Oh, bye-the-way, my family member is a college sophomore with two hard working parents who provide this car for him.
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I've never heard of this - it sounds illegal. I also think it most likely was a case of racism. I always thought you weren't supposed to give your SS# to anyone except your employer.I'm probably completely wrong about that though haha. Can't people use your SS# to steal your identity? I would ask a lawyer about this - any law students in the class??
ReplyDeleteBut cops often feel like they ARE the law/above the law. I read a news article the other day where a cop (I think it was in Texas) wrote a ticket to this lady for NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH. He eventually had to answer to his superiors, but it was also apparently not the first time it had happened to that police force. Cops need to be audited (i guess thats the right word?) by citizens to stop abuses, which are all too prevalent today. They're supposed to protect and serve (thats what they say anyway)! Not harass and arrest as many people as they can.
It does sound very illegal, but I found it's not. An officer can ask...BUT...you don't HAVE to give it to them and they SHOULDN'T threaten to arrest you if you choose not to. I found out from a friend (an officer) who told me that a request like this IS usually due to "some type" of profiling.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this is an everyday occurence that is upsetting to any ethnic group that is racially profiled. The abuse of power/authority that the police engage in puts the minority communities in fear. This is just one of the many stories I have heard where cops just stop random people fitting a specific racial profile. The only twist to this story was the social security card number request. After that everything else falls in line with what is to be expected by police who wish to exert unnecessary, and often excessive, force to subdue non-harmful, innocent, everyday people. I knew of a guy who spent a couple of days in jail only because the cop claimed he didnt stop for a stop sign. So instead of giving him a ticket or any warning. The police officer just arrested him. I was so appalled when this happened. This is the world we live in...
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