I was caught ‘walking while black’ by cops - A dean at University of N. Texas said so

[pauldun170]

Ok finally had a chance to listen to the audio.
Everything was fine up until 2:05.
That stop should have ended right there.

However complicating matters is that the recruit is there who is supposed to be learning "By the book".
If the lead officer is doing his job then he kinda has to go by the book here if policy mandates it since he is supposed to be training the guy.

Calling in her Name and DOB was complete unnecessary under normal circumstances but in a training scenario I can see why they took her info because paper work. I can't fault the officers on this one. This is coming from someone who thinks a lot of cops are dickheads with an entitlement complex

As for Bland's reaction on the video, I'd be pissed to if cops interrupted my workout in my own neighborhood. She's obviously in workout attire and doing the...whatever old people call that thing she was doing.
However, if home girl is going to be walking in the middle of the street it makes it kinda awkward to pull up next to her and say "Hey asshole....move over to the other side because you are fucking up traffic"

 

[Subyman]

Ok finally had a chance to listen to the audio.
Everything was fine up until 2:05.
That stop should have ended right there.

However complicating matters is that the recruit is there who is supposed to be learning "By the book".
If the lead officer is doing his job then he kinda has to go by the book here if policy mandates it since he is supposed to be training the guy.

Calling in her Name and DOB was complete unnecessary under normal circumstances but in a training scenario I can see why they took her info because paper work. I can't fault the officers on this one. This is coming from someone who thinks a lot of cops are dickheads with an entitlement complex

As for Bland's reaction on the video, I'd be pissed to if cops interrupted my workout in my own neighborhood. She's obviously in workout attire and doing the...whatever old people call that thing she was doing.
However, if home girl is going to be walking in the middle of the street it makes it kinda awkward to pull up next to her and say "Hey asshole....move over to the other side because you are fucking up traffic"

Officer said she was impeding flow. He mentioned a truck behind her. He cited the traffic code and followed procedure. She was let go with a hand shake. This has to be one of the most mundane police stops I've ever seen on video.

 

[Humpy]

Fuckin' cops. LOL at impeding traffic flow in a residential neighborhood. One car went by in the 4 minutes of video? They were worried about her safety on an empty street? Just LOL.

 

[xgsound]

Why ask for ID if you're not going to ticket her?

They said the trucker called and they were responding, so there will be a report which should include who was involved.

Jim

 

[realibrad]

Ok finally had a chance to listen to the audio.
Everything was fine up until 2:05.
That stop should have ended right there.

However complicating matters is that the recruit is there who is supposed to be learning "By the book".
If the lead officer is doing his job then he kinda has to go by the book here if policy mandates it since he is supposed to be training the guy.

Calling in her Name and DOB was complete unnecessary under normal circumstances but in a training scenario I can see why they took her info because paper work. I can't fault the officers on this one. This is coming from someone who thinks a lot of cops are dickheads with an entitlement complex

As for Bland's reaction on the video, I'd be pissed to if cops interrupted my workout in my own neighborhood. She's obviously in workout attire and doing the...whatever old people call that thing she was doing.
However, if home girl is going to be walking in the middle of the street it makes it kinda awkward to pull up next to her and say "Hey asshole....move over to the other side because you are fucking up traffic"

If you think that she was wrong to be talking in the middle of the street, then why would you be mad for the cops stopping you. If someone stopped me for doing something wrong, I dont see why I would get mad at the cops. Seems strange to know you did something wrong, and still get mad for getting caught.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

I read the title and expected to see another example of police stepping over the line. What I saw was a very reasonable procedural stop.

Pedestrian walking on the wrong side of the road. It's potential hazard and they very politely let her know. Maybe she didn't grow up with an awareness that others live in this world with her, but she should have taken this as a simple "teaching moment" and listened and learned.

I believe in texas the law says that if you are walking on a road, you need to use the sidewalk. If there is no side was, walk on the left side of the road of facing oncoming traffic. As the officer stated, it's safer that way.

He took down her information as part of the stop. And by the way, this was a stop. I believe they could have cited her for walking on the wrong side, but he didn't.

I don't think he forced her to give up her information. He just asked politely if she would and she did. As she should have. He recorded it as he should have for reference.

by the way, this is what I found on Pedestrian laws in Texas.

(a) A pedestrian may not walk along and on a roadway if an adjacent sidewalk is provided and is accessible to the pedestrian.
(b) If a sidewalk is not provided, a pedestrian walking along and on a highway shall if possible walk on:
(1) the left side of the roadway; or
(2) the shoulder of the highway facing oncoming traffic.
(c) The operator of a vehicle emerging from or entering an alley, building, or private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian approaching on a sidewalk extending across the alley, building entrance or exit, road, or driveway.
- See more at: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/TN/7/C/552/552.006#sthash.b56Wt6Jo.dpuf

 

[pauldun170]

If you think that she was wrong to be talking in the middle of the street, then why would you be mad for the cops stopping you. If someone stopped me for doing something wrong, I dont see why I would get mad at the cops. Seems strange to know you did something wrong, and still get mad for getting caught.

If I'm out running and someone interrupts my work out then I'm going to be pissed. There had better be a fucking emergency if they are going to stop me. If I have to stop, take my headphones out hit pause on my running apps because anyone, cops or not wants to "have a word" I'm going to be pissed.

I can empathize with her
Looking at it from her perspective, I can completely understand why she would be annoyed (once they ask her for ID). From her perspective she is in her neighborhood doing a normal activity that should not warrant any sort of interaction with law enforcement where they are asking for ID

 

[pauldun170]

I read the title and expected to see another example of police stepping over the line. What I saw was a very reasonable procedural stop.

Pedestrian walking on the wrong side of the road. It's potential hazard and they very politely let her know. Maybe she didn't grow up with an awareness that others live in this world with her, but she should have taken this as a simple "teaching moment" and listened and learned.

I believe in texas the law says that if you are walking on a road, you need to use the sidewalk. If there is no side was, walk on the left side of the road of facing oncoming traffic. As the officer stated, it's safer that way.

He took down her information as part of the stop. And by the way, this was a stop. I believe they could have cited her for walking on the wrong side, but he didn't.

I don't think he forced her to give up her information. He just asked politely if she would and she did. As she should have. He recorded it as he should have for reference.

by the way, this is what I found on Pedestrian laws in Texas.

(a) A pedestrian may not walk along and on a roadway if an adjacent sidewalk is provided and is accessible to the pedestrian.
(b) If a sidewalk is not provided, a pedestrian walking along and on a highway shall if possible walk on:
(1) the left side of the roadway; or
(2) the shoulder of the highway facing oncoming traffic.
(c) The operator of a vehicle emerging from or entering an alley, building, or private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian approaching on a sidewalk extending across the alley, building entrance or exit, road, or driveway.
- See more at: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/TN/7/C/552/552.006#sthash.b56Wt6Jo.dpuf

While I can understand why she would get combative with the cops, I also feel she is a general dumbass and should have known better.

I think it would be safe to assume that under normal circumstances those cops would have not stopped her at all. Sure its in the law books but in a residential area any cop who pulls over the runners and walker for being on the wrong side of street is a dick. Its like giving someone a ticket for spitting or cursing in public. considering they arrest people for anal sex there I guess it might be cultural dickery over in Texas precincts but thats another discussion.
Having someone complain about it is justification to have a word with her

She was fine until they asked for ID.
That's the point where I'd get pissed too.

 

[trenchfoot]

By DOROTHY BLAND
Published: 28 October 2015 05:08 PM
Updated: 29 October 2015 10:52 AM
Related
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Michael Javen Fortner: Blacks can’t ignore their role in today’s overpolicing
Megan McArdle: How ‘Black Lives Matter’ would like to micromanage cops
Editor's note: The police chief's response follows.

Flashing lights and sirens from a police vehicle interrupted a routine Saturday morning walk in my golf-course community in Corinth.

I often walk about 3 miles near daybreak as part of my daily exercise. However, on Oct. 24, I delayed my walk until late morning as I waited for the rain to stop. I was dressed in a gray hooded “Boston” sweatshirt, black leggings, white socks, plus black-and-white Nike running shoes. Like most African-Americans, I am familiar with the phrase “driving while black,” but was I really being stopped for walking on the street in my own neighborhood? Yes. In the words of Sal Ruibal, “Walking while black is a crime in many jurisdictions. May God have mercy on our nation.”


After reviewing the video, I'm still mystified as to how she could have come to that conclusion. Is she grasping for straws here? Playing the race card because she can't believe that a woman like her could be treated that way?


Knowing that the police officers are typically armed with guns and are a lot bigger than my 5 feet, 4 inches, I had no interest in my life’s story playing out like Trayvon Martin’s death. I stopped and asked the two officers if there was a problem; I don’t remember getting a decent answer before one of the officers asked me where I lived and for identification.


Fishing for sympathy here, what with those big bad white cops towering over you and threatening you with bodily harm? Really? More like frightened beyond reason at the time and looking for some payback and taking a lame stab at recovering your self-esteem IMO.


I remember saying something like, “Around the corner. This is my neighborhood, and I’m a taxpayer who pays a lot of taxes.” As for the I.D. question, how many Americans typically carry I.D. with them on their morning walk? Do you realize I bought the hoodie I was wearing after completing the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2014? Do you realize I have hosted gatherings for family, friends, faculty, staff and students in my home? Not once was a police officer called. To those officers, my education or property-owner status didn’t matter. One officer captured my address and date of birth.


Now this is where her indignant attitude, self-righteousness and wanting some vengeance overcame her grasp on reality. This is where her true intent becomes evident, and for shame she had to hide behind the "because of my race" excuse to get her digs in.


I guess I was simply a brown face in an affluent neighborhood. I told the police I didn’t like to walk in the rain, and one of them told me, “My dog doesn’t like to walk in the rain.” Ouch!


There she goes again, using her race as a reason to "get even" with those cops humiliating her in public, besmirching her reputation and having the gall to stop her of all people. The nerve. I'm surprised she didn't come out with one of those "Don't you know who I am?" threats. But I guess in her own way, she was.


I didn’t have my I.D., but I did have my iPhone, so I took a picture of the two police officers and the Texas license plate. One of the officers told me I should walk on the sidewalk or the other side of the street for safety’s sake.


No they did not. Get yer facts straight lady.


Although I am not related to Sandra Bland, I thought about her, Freddie Gray and the dozens of others who have died while in police custody. For safety’s sake, I posted the photo of the officers on Facebook, and within hours, more than 100 Facebook friends spread the news from New York to California.


More reference to occurrences that had nothing to do with what actually happened, except in her revenge-driven altered state of mind.


“You are now in the company of Henry Louis Gates and others with the same experience,” wrote one of my former students from Florida. “We must stop racial profiling.”

That didn't happen, now did it?


For anyone who doesn’t think racial profiling happens, I can assure you it does happen. For a sanity check, I stopped by the mayor’s house and asked him, “Do I look like a criminal?” Mayor Bill Heidemann said no and shook his head in disbelief. I appreciate the mayor being a good neighbor, but why should he need to verify that I am not a menace to society?


Stopped by the Mayor's house? OK lady, you have now verified your status and stature in the community, and for what? To add further proof that, due to your illustrious accomplishments and privileged status, you didn't deserve to be verbally brutalized by those terrifying white men in uniform? Did you even pause to think that those cops didn't know you from a homeless person when they approached you?


I refuse to let this incident ruin my life. As I was finishing my walk and listening to Urban Praise radio, I encountered an elderly white woman who asked if I would like some roses. She gave me a half-dozen roses. It was a random act of kindness and that’s why I call Janet Herbison of Gemini Peach and Rose Farm in Denton a good Samaritan. That evening I had dinner with neighbors.


A routine stop has now been elevated to an incident that has the potential to ruin your life? Geez, I thought Rush Limbaugh was good at making a huge disasterous mud slide out of a mud puddle, but now, well, I have to pass that crown to you, the new champeen tall tale teller of all time.


The more often we talk and get to know people as humans, the stronger we will become as a nation. We are all part of the human race.


Dorothy Bland is the dean of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism and the director for the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas. Reach her at dorothy1.bland@gmail.com.

 

[OutHouse]

If I'm out running and someone interrupts my work out then I'm going to be pissed. There had better be a fucking emergency if they are going to stop me. If I have to stop, take my headphones out hit pause on my running apps because anyone, cops or not wants to "have a word" I'm going to be pissed.

rage much?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I think that was totally unnecessary. Wasting her time and the cops time.

I'm not going to disagree, but I have one simple question. Why do people like this dumb bitch have to make a conflict out of nothing? Answer the questions. Respond Politely. Don't be stupid.

Instead, it's like a mandatory requirement. I HAVE to be stupid. I HAVE to make a conflict out of nothing. I MUST accuse them of being racist.

I remember saying something like, “Around the corner. This is my neighborhood, and I’m a taxpayer who pays a lot of taxes.”

Yes, we all pay taxes you stupid bitch. You're not special other than *THINKING* you're special for paying taxes. It doesn't exclude you from being policed.

? Do you realize I bought the hoodie I was wearing after completing the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2014? Do you realize I have hosted gatherings for family, friends, faculty, staff and students in my home? Not once was a police officer called. To those officers, my education or property-owner status didn’t matter.

No Shit sherlock? Why the fuck SHOULD a police officer care about those things? He is concerned with upkeeping the law and protecting the public. NONE of that stupid irrelevant shit is an exemption pass from how you are allowed to act.

 

[pauldun170]

rage much?

I try and do it at least once every month.
It's a bonding exercise with the wife while she is going through her monthly...thing.

 

[OCNewbie]

There was a sidewalk, why not use it? Isn't the point of a sidewalk to give you a safe path on which to walk, and to avoid walking in the street?

Was it an absolutely necessary stop? No, but it certainly wasn't racially motivated. Could they even tell what race she was before she turned around (after they had already committed to approaching her)? Perhaps the skin on her hands was exposed?

It's unfortunate that this has even been brought to our attention to discuss.

 

[trenchfoot]

"Dorothy Bland is the dean of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism and the director for the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas."

If her diatribe was any indication of the kind of journalism she once taught and now promotes as Dean of Journalism, then all I can say is I pity those students that look to her as a role model.

She embellished, she lied, she misrepresented, she misinterpreted to forward a cause that deserves much better than what she alleged in her fairy tale.

Yellow journalism at its finest.

 

[pauldun170]

There was a sidewalk, why not use it? Isn't the point of a sidewalk to give you a safe path on which to walk, and to avoid walking in the street?

Was it an absolutely necessary stop? No, but it certainly wasn't racially motivated. Could they even tell what race she was before she turned around (after they had already committed to approaching her)? Perhaps the skin on her hands was exposed?

It's unfortunate that this has even been brought to our attention to discuss.

One of the reasons why some folks prefer street over sidewalk is that sidewalks can be uneven. All the little dips as rises for driveways and streets + whatever roots might cause subtle variation can throw you off. Plus over time\distance those little "step ups" to sidewalks add up. since you can't exact pick the leg you do the step up with you end up with one leg taking the brunt of it. Streets offer a more consistent surface.

For a little residential side street like the one she is on, I know I'd stick to the street.
However, I run. I don't do that flappy bird "brisk walk" crap. Rules might be different for the bird walkers. Maybe too much pressure to say "Good morning" when you are on the sidewalk.

Maybe she was actually trying to fly?
You wouldn't want to take off from a sidewalk.
You'd need to use the street.

 

[NesuD]

Watched the video and don't see a single thing wrong with what they did. She was creating a traffic hazard and they very politely did their job for her own safety. I see no evidence of profiling here at all.

I can remember through the course of my life having patrol officers initiate contacts with me and my friends on numerous occasions when walking in the streets or playing pickup games in the streets. It was cordial just like hers and clearly for our own and the public's safety. That is just old fashioned community policing. I would love to see that again in my neighborhood.

I guess some people just have to be a victim of something.

 

[Attic]

Uhm, not seeing any issue. Seemed like a pleasant stop to me. They even shook hands at the end. She had a hoodie up with full sleeves and long pants when they were behind her so they wouldn't have known she was black until she turned around after the stop was initiated.

I would consider that it may have been an exploratory stop due to how she was moving. Flapping her arms and walking right at the point of a jog. As soon as he notices she was exercising and it wasn't a mental health issue, their guard drops.

100%

Problem of course is the woman trying to turn this into a racial issue.

Racists and race baiters always see and frame everything through the lens of race.

 

[bshole]

i have yet to be wrong about anything i stated about any law on these boards. Ever.

roflmfao!

Self-willed and self-delusional, fools are ridiculous creatures who strut across the stage of life as if they owned the world and the heavens above it.

Not that this would apply to you humble, you are "humble" after all.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I also think if she were a hot blonde running with micro shorts and had big bouncing boobs, the odds of them bothering to do anything other than perform a drive by ogle would have been greatly reduced...

Does not compute. We can stop and get a good long close up look while stopping her for a valid reason, not just pretext, and we settle for a drive by look?

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

One of the reasons why some folks prefer street over sidewalk is that sidewalks can be uneven. All the little dips as rises for driveways and streets + whatever roots might cause subtle variation can throw you off. Plus over time\distance those little "step ups" to sidewalks add up. since you can't exact pick the leg you do the step up with you end up with one leg taking the brunt of it. Streets offer a more consistent surface.
<snip>

This is exactly why I run on the street. Sidewalks pose potential ankle twists, dogs running too close to you, errant drops in elevation, where the streets tend to be a much more stable and safe running environment.
That said, I always run against the traffic, unless cresting a hill then I move to the flow of traffic until I get to the top and then veer back over to the other side. I also have reflective clothing and lighting covering me head to toe.

 

[JSt0rm]

"and I pay lots of taxes too" - Im fucking rich bitch back the fuck up. lol.

 

[JSt0rm]

This is exactly why I run on the street. Sidewalks pose potential ankle twists, dogs running too close to you, errant drops in elevation, where the streets tend to be a much more stable and safe running environment.
That said, I always run against the traffic, unless cresting a hill then I move to the flow of traffic until I get to the top and then veer back over to the other side. I also have reflective clothing and lighting covering me head to toe.

against traffic brings its own risks. That why I prefer the treadmill.

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[realibrad]

If I'm out running and someone interrupts my work out then I'm going to be pissed. There had better be a fucking emergency if they are going to stop me. If I have to stop, take my headphones out hit pause on my running apps because anyone, cops or not wants to "have a word" I'm going to be pissed.

I can empathize with her
Looking at it from her perspective, I can completely understand why she would be annoyed (once they ask her for ID). From her perspective she is in her neighborhood doing a normal activity that should not warrant any sort of interaction with law enforcement where they are asking for ID

Now I am even more confused.

You said...

However, if home girl is going to be walking in the middle of the street it makes it kinda awkward to pull up next to her and say "Hey asshole....move over to the other side because you are fucking up traffic"

That seems to support she was doing something more than working out right? She is walking in the middle of the street. She should have been walking on the sidewalk and the rule is that if you do walk in the street, you walk on the left side not the right. You seem to understand that she was doing something wrong, but then would be pissed for the cop stopping you for doing that thing.

Are you saying you would be upset at first until you realized you were wrong, or are you saying that your wrong would should not be rectified?

 

[pauldun170]

Now I am even more confused.

Sorry.
Communication breakdown I guess.