The killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American, has raised a media storm as bloggers, tweeters and even more or less legitimate news outlets spread information, rumors and outright fabrications about the incident. Unfortunately, this tragedy, like that of Trayvon Martin, is a national Rorschach test--people see what they want to see in it. A lot of that perspective has to do with how people view the police and young African-American males. My perspective is a bit different. I completely trust the police to treat me fairly, but I am wary of how they treat young African American males. This is based on my experience.
In January 1983, my car broke down about ten miles outside of Ozona, Texas. There had been a heavy snowfall and it was getting dark. This was well before anyone had cell phones. As I was stuck by the side of the road, wondering what I was going to do, a DPS trooper stopped by, gave me a jump and helped me on my way. You don't forget being helped in a time of need. On the other hand, when I have been stopped for speeding or having an expired registration sticker, it's been because I was actually speeding or had an expired inspection sticker. The police in those instances treated me respectfully. My personal experiences with the police have shown them to be helpful and professional time and time again. If I happen to see the flashing blue lights behind me, my first thought is what did I do wrong, not why I am being hassled.
However, after I had been practicing for a few years, I got a call from one of my professors from Texas Lutheran. He said that two of his students had been arrested in Austin and asked if I could help them. The students had been attending a party in East Austin when the police were called out to break it up. One of my clients had spoken to the police in an attempt to defuse the situation. However, there was a confrontation between a female police officer and a party goer which resulted in the female officer trying to tackle a much larger male. In the course of the struggle, she lost her nightstick. According to my clients, they were then approached by officers who asked them if they had the nightstick. When they said no, one of the officers asked them three times in rapid succession if they were going to leave. When they told the officer that they were trying to leave, the officer arrested both of them for failing to obey a lawful order and charged one of them with public intoxication. As a result, they had to spend the weekend in jail. The situation was especially severe for one of my clients who was planning a career in law enforcement. Had he been convicted, he could have kissed his future career goodbye.
I entered the case as a young, idealistic attorney hoping to clear up what was an obvious misunderstanding. What followed was a series of events that could have been innocent or could have been harassment. The three charges were filed as separate cases. Every time one of the cases would be set for hearing, my clients would have to come up from Seguin. Every time this happened, I would find out that the prosecutor had filed a motion for continuance at the last minute without telling me. Eventually, two of the three cases were dismissed when the officer failed to appear. When the third case came up for trial, the prosecutor asked me if my remaining client had the nightstick. My client said that no, he had never seen the nightstick, but if it was that important, he would buy the officer a new one. At that point, the final case was dropped.
My conclusion from this was that my clients were arrested on a pretext based on the mistaken belief that they had taken the officer's nightstick. Of course, once they were arrested and booked, it should have been readily apparent that they didn't have it. Nevertheless, two innocent college students and one naive lawyer went through a dance of last minute continuances and no-show dismissals until the final case was resolved. My former professor and I saw these students as promising young men seeking to obtain an education and better themselves. Law enforcement saw them as thugs and petty thieves.
My experience with the case of the college students and the missing nightstick was disillusioning. It took away my illusion that law enforcement could be trusted to "protect and serve" everyone. Now whenever, I hear about police shooting an armed black man who allegedly grabbed for the officer's weapon or reached into his belt or otherwise made a threatening move, I have to wonder whether it went down that way or whether it was just an after the fact excuse for an inexcusable action. I don't know whether police racism is widespread or whether it is only the unusual cases that make the news. However, I do believe that in some cases, it does exist. I know because I have seen it.
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