To be honest, I cannot blame anyone for their perceptions of me. LAPD is constantly in the news because one of my co-workers looses their cool and throws an extra punch too many while a camera is recording.
What I can blame you for, however, is not understanding that in my line of work, showing weakness is a death warrant. I am a nice guy once you get to know me. I have a family that I love. I have kids that I am raising to fight the injustices of the world without fear and wife who supports my every action.
I am only a cop because I gave up on my real dreams a long time ago. So I adapted to the best profession to suit my personality. I hate offices. I hate crime, especially after I lost a close friend to gang violence. I love excitement and would like to feed my wild side. So here I am now, your local police officer.
The Night:
I am finally ending my shift and I cannot wait to go home. I've had an extremely long day and all I can think about is my bed.
I get a distress call from the dispatch. The officer in danger is a friend and all I was thinking was, "Not on my watch." I threw on my sirens and sped to the destination with my game face on.
I arrive to the scene and see a large crowd of students. Mostly black with a few white and latino kids also.
Thoughts:
"Wait, why are they calling me racist? I'm not racist."
"Don't look weak"
"The faster you all go home, the faster we can all go home."
"He's looking at me. Show him you mean business."
"I'd hate to do it, but if they get too close I'll hit them with all my God given might."
"JUST LEAVE!"
From US:
To be honest, I cannot blame anyone for their preconceived perception of me. The media constantly perpetuates images of those who look like me in a negative, arrogant, or flamboyant manner and I understand that.
What I can blame you for is choosing whether or not you allow those images to prevent you from getting to know me rather than making assumptions.
I'm a pretty nice guy once you get to know me. I made it a prestigious university after working hard in school. I have a deep passion for helping others. Now I am about to graduate and would simply just like to have fun on the eve of finals to celebrate my accomplishments and the accomplishments of my peers.
The Night:
Just came from a yacht ride with some friends from student government in celebration of a year of hard work and good programing.
My phone died so I decide to walk to a friend's house because she usually has friends over that are filled of good energy. I was feeling great, but when I saw that there were a few other friends that I enjoy spending time with at her house, I became elated.
We know of a "ConGradulation" party happening near campus so we decide to go. I usually don't like to go to house parties, but this one has security and they are checking student ID so hey, why not?
We get there and see that there is an identical house party across the street with friends of mine who don't have as good of a tan as me (if you catch my drift).
The party was fun. I saw plenty of friends of all races all enjoying themselves and enjoying the music. LAPD arrives to shut down the party as a result of a noise complaint. That's okay. I had fun and saw the people I needed to see. We were leaving.
I hear commotion behind me and see a friend getting hauled off in cuffs. Then I see another friend who was recording the situation wrestled to the ground by several cops. Then two more friends being tackled. I look at the house across the street and the police are telling them to stay inside the gate to stay away from harm.
The next thing I know, we are at a complete face-to-face stand off with LAPD and the SWAT Team.
Thoughts:
"Look at how they are looking at me. Racists!"
"There's an identical party right next door. Why are you treating us this way?"
"You are telling me to leave, but our cars are behind the barricade you just created."
"I couldn't imagine how people used to get fire hosed and bit by dogs for similar situations."
"Why are you arresting her and hurting her? She's a Trustee Scholar."
"Whatever happens, I am willing to stand in solidarity with the people by my side."
"Something has to change."
"What did I do?"
"Why are you treating me like a monster?"
Analysis:
These may have been the thoughts of a select few involved in the events that took place the night of May 4th. Those individuals may be the outliers of a population of police and African-Americans. It is possible that this event and those similar can be prevented or rationally avoided through proper communication. But when you look at the skin, the badge, or the attire what do you choose to imagine? The monster or the man?
How To Help:
Really interesting/great post. I've heard so many rumors circulating around campus about this party and the events of the night. I can definitely understand both sides of the issue (the students at the party and the LAPD) but I absolutely do not understand why LAPD chose to overreact the way that they did. In fact, I find the actions that they took that night to be deplorable. House parties get shut down around campus all the time for various reasons, why did they choose to react so intensely to this particular party. It's perplexing. Thank you for giving us some insight into your account of the night.
ReplyDeleteThat night I was heading home from a team formal. My friends and I tried to drive down the street to get to our apartment but the road was blocked off. We saw helicopters, a bunch of police on foot and several police cars driving around. Naturally we assumed that something awful had happened and that the police were looking for someone dangerous. It wasn't until the next morning that I learned about what really happened. I was shocked to learn of what measures the LAPD had gone to to shut down a college party that was reported for loud music. I couldn't understand why they needed that many officers to shut down the party or why they had to arrest anyone at all. I've been to many parties that have been shut down both by DPS and LAPD but usually they send a couple cars at most. The other day our neighbors held a party and upon receiving a noise complaint a single police car drove by and without even getting out of the car used his bullhorn to tell them to lower their music. A few minutes later they drove off and did not come back even though the party continued for a couple more hours at least.
ReplyDeleteMy Latina roommate and I both felt like had it been a minority party they would have cleared the house out right away. For those who say that it has nothing to do with race I'm honestly interested in hearing what reasons there are for the amount of force they seem to aim predominantly at minority student parties.
That night I was heading home from a team formal. My friends and I tried to drive down the street to get to our apartment but the road was blocked off. We saw helicopters, a bunch of police on foot and several police cars driving around. Naturally we assumed that something awful had happened and that the police were looking for someone dangerous. It wasn't until the next morning that I learned about what really happened. I was shocked to learn of what measures the LAPD had gone to to shut down a college party that was reported for loud music. I couldn't understand why they needed that many officers to shut down the party or why they had to arrest anyone at all. I've been to many parties that have been shut down both by DPS and LAPD but usually they send a couple cars at most. The other day our neighbors held a party and upon receiving a noise complaint a single police car drove by and without even getting out of the car used his bullhorn to tell them to lower their music. A few minutes later they drove off and did not come back even though the party continued for a couple more hours at least.
ReplyDeleteMy Latina roommate and I both felt like had it been a minority party they would have cleared the house out right away. For those who say that it has nothing to do with race I'm honestly interested in hearing what reasons there are for the amount of force they seem to aim predominantly at minority student parties.
This is an incredible post, and I love your prose. It seems like everyday I live in downtown Los Angeles I lose a little more respect for the LAPD. I want to believe that they are here to protect us, to help us, to SERVE us, but all I see is the trigger happy boys in blue looking for an excuse to bust people. It’s a sad fact that blacks are portrayed so negatively in the media which causes negative stereotypes and a harmful disposition for police officers who come in contact with them. This reminds me of the recent Dorner manhunt in which the cops shot up two cars because they thought they were Dorner (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/ex-cop-manhunt-newspaper-delivery-women-shot.html). Then there are just the traffic cases where cops are trying to meet a quota rather than give meaningful citations to protect people. I’d encourage you to read the blog post by The London Times about prosecuting innocent victims (http://ashleynoelondon.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/people-v-innocent-woman/) and my comment on it.
ReplyDelete