When Traffic Stops Go Bad -- How Cops Demean Black and Brown Men

[rrneck]

59. Ford 350 van

Did the van have windows? If they are like most vans I have seen, the driver and passenger seats are high back bucket seats. If there were no windows or if the windows were tinted, it is almost impossible to see inside the vehicle when looking through the driver side window. The officers would have no way of knowing how many people are in the vehicle. Had they been driving a car, the officers could look and see who was in it as they approached. Granted, lots of cars have tinted windows as well, but it's a bit more difficult to get out of a car than a van. Half a dozen guys can get a "running start" out of the back of a van with all sorts and kinds of weapons from a direction that are difficult for the officers to control.

If they couldn't see inside the van, traffic stop procedures may have required them to have the driver and passenger exit the vehicle. When asked to exit the vehicle, procedures may have required a pat down and a curb sit. I don't know though, I'm not a cop and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Also, the added need for caution could be as a rubric to harass a black man and his son for no other reason than to harass a black man and his son. Police harassment is usually perpetrated in the name of "officer safety".

I've always thought it a good idea to turn on the interior light of the vehicle in a traffic stop. It gives the officer a good look inside the vehicle and helps him relax a bit by showing an effort to cooperate with him. I've never had to sit on a curb during a traffic stop. But then again, I'm white.