iidesune

I love Mussolini.

That was... unexpected.

To what extent do you think this disparity exists because blacks are always assumed in the worst possible light? I read your story, and it just seemed that police in Dearborn are willing to give whites the benefit of the doubt. "we can let the white girls off, but we're going to handcuff this suspicious looking black guy because he probably has a gun."

Speaking from personal experience, I have been stopped by police at least twice in my life. The second time was on my college campus because I was out walking late in the evening to check on a test score. A cop showed up and handcuffed me without telling me what was going on. I remained calm, but he eventually told me they were looking for a burglar. Apparently, I fit the description. Eventually, he let me off without incident. But what struck me is that he felt the need to handcuff me. I can only hypothesize that he thought the worst of me-- that I could have been armed.

*fascist

Spitballing here-- but my guess is that you don't care because you're not black.
In any case, I think if the facts bare out that blacks are arrested more than whites at such an incredible disparity, even in majority white cities, certainly that at least merits some exploration.

That's an interesting explanation. I won't say you're wrong, but I can provide more details.

I was simply walking at night alone. The cop pulls up in his car, with his high beams on, so I couldn't see anything. He immediately told me to put my hands up. I couldn't see anything because of the lights, and I was scared. I put my hands up, he exits the car and immediately handcuffs me. He said nothing to me before he handcuffed me. He asked why I was outside at that time of night. I told him I was a student there. He then says that they were looking for a burglar and I fit the description.

I think had he just approached me and asked a couple questions, I could have provided my student ID (I had it on me). Also, I found out later that the suspect was a black male wearing dark pants and a light t-shirt. I was wearing light shorts and a dark shirt. So, technically I did NOT fit the description. He simply saw a black guy walking the street, assumed he was the suspect, and handcuffed me because he felt threatened.

I should mention that while I am 6 feet tall, I weighed about 155 pounds at the time, and the officer was bigger (said: heavier) than I was. Do you really think he was threatened by my stature? He was probably more fearful I had a gun.