Ways Not to Talk To Police Officers: The genesis of the modern police organization in the South is the Slave Patrol (Platt 1982). The first formal slave patrol was created in the Carolina colonies in 1704 (Reichel 1992). Slave patrols had three primary functions: (1) to chase down, apprehend, and return to their owners, runaway slaves; (2) to provide a form of organized terror to deter slave revolts; and, (3) to maintain a form of discipline for slave-workers who were subject to summary justice, outside of the law, if they violated any plantation rules. Last year during the summer, after the Zimmerman verdict, when a group of us, including me and my children, took over the lobby to the mayors office and set-up shop all night long, with many hands caring for each other, after we took the signs to post them at the lawn in front of the mayors office. after that. I went to go meet my cousin at the Point downtown. All of us, all of our children laughing and playing together. it was a beautiful day. At least one of my children had on a White supremacy acquitted Zimmerman t-shirt, the result of sleeping downtown in an office building the night before. One of my suns started to climb a big metal pole in the park. Scaling it hand over hand. I watched him, amazed. I probably should have told him to get down from there. In my mind he wasnt hurting anything and his skill precluded injury. Me and my cousin remarked at how graceful he was, climbing up like that. natural gifts. A state officer rode by, slowly. turned back around again stopped in front of us. got out of his vehicle. im going to have to ask you to leave. what he is doing is destruction of property. he said can we just get a warning? We didnt know that he wasnt allowed to do that; well make sure it doesnt happen again, my cousin asks him. no, you have to leave now. the officer is smiling as if he is just doing his job. i look at him in his pale blue eyes. My friendly children are asking him questions about his uniform and his occupation. come on children I say. Lets go. This officer doesnt want you to play in the park. He doesnt want you here. stop talking to him. im still looking at him in his blue eyes. he stops smiling at me. We stare at each other, faces both unsmiling. this is what white supremacy looks like, kids, come on, lets go. put your shoes on and leave the park, now, he says. I am putting my shoes on. As soon as my children put their shoes on, Ill put mine on and we will leave. put your shoes on and leave the park, now, he says. I am putting my shoes on. As soon as my children put their shoes on, Ill put mine on and we will leave. im still looking at his pale blue eyes. I need to see your id. He starts scribbling on a notebook. we dont have ids, my cousin says. turn around, and put your hands behind your back, he says to me. i pull my id out of my pocket. Im not trying to be arrested in front of my children. he writes me a citation and says that im banned from point state park. after my children put their shoes on, I put mine on, and we leave. A long time later, i get a summons. the charge is inciting a riot. the officer doesnt show up. the case gets thrown out. the Judge tells me to stay out of trouble. I feel very lucky that I am not dead, now.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 11:53:57 +0000
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