View Full Version : Racially profiled.
pearce5
Nov 14, 2007, 10:50 PM
When do I make a motion to dismiss the charges?. ive got all the evidence I just don't know when to use it?. the officer pulled me over only because he saw me coming from the medical marijuana parking lot and because I'm a native american and in this county that is a crime... ive got no license but I'm pretty sure it against the law to just pick me off the street to see if I'm doing anything illeagal... right?:confused:
N0help4u
Nov 14, 2007, 10:56 PM
The law is they aren't suppose to randomly pull you over because they feel like it for the most part, but with Homeland Security they use *suspicious activity* as an excuse to do whatever they want. You probably should consult a lawyer about violations of rights. You should ask in court on what grounds he pulled you over. I am sure you must of gotten a ticket for no license, be prepared to pay it. If you don't have much money ask about a payment arrangement and be on time with every payment.
charlotte234s
Nov 14, 2007, 10:57 PM
I'm guessing he pulled you over because you were coming from a medical marijuana lot, not because you are native american.
excon
Nov 15, 2007, 05:57 AM
Hello p:
I think the cop is just your ordinary piece of crap. Next time you're in front of the judge, you can make your motion... However, you're better off with a lawyer.
I still think it's against the law to drive without a license, though, so you might have a hard time.
excon
charlotte234s
Nov 15, 2007, 06:17 AM
If you do think it's "racial profiling" then feel free to say so in court, but I don't know if you have any proof. I am sorry for your problems though.
Fr_Chuck
Nov 15, 2007, 06:45 AM
So you have proof it is racial profiling, I guess that means the officer confessed to it, how do you prove what the officer thought.
Sounds like they got you dead to rights and you are wanting to try a race card becaue you don't want to take the blame for your crime you were doing.
JimGunther
Jun 24, 2008, 01:50 PM
In my state there has to be probable cause to pull someone over on the public roadways. I am a court bailiff and have seen many cases dismissed because the judge did not think there was probable cause and the case was dismissed.
I suspect that this case has already gone to court, but anyway, defendants normally ask for a dismissal after the presentation of the state's case. If the judge will not dismiss at that point, the defense will put on a defense.
Police are trained in these procedures and I can guarantee you that they do not stop people on the highway based on race, its largely a myth and that's why people can't prove it in court. All the officer has to do is to testify that as you were pulling out, you failed to use a turn signal, failed to stop at a stop sign, etc. and they have their probable cause, unlees you can somehow refute it in rasining a defense.
The fact that you are so quick to conclude that you were stopped because of your race, and would drive without a license in the first place, tells me something about the person you are and the likely outcome of a case like this. It is very popular these days to raise the race issue in defense of wrongdoing but the judges I have seen don't want to hear it unless you have some strong evidence to justify the claim.
Next time you are driving around, take a look at the cars around you and see if you can tell what the race of the driver is, especially at night. It just doesn't happen. Despite all the allegations to the contrary, most police officers are people of good faith who are trying to do something about the horrendous amount of wrongdoing committed by people of bad faith.
N0help4u
Jun 24, 2008, 02:11 PM
I have to disagree that police do not pull you over because of race. '
Rodney King was one famous case. Johnny Gammage, a cousin of Pittsburgh Steeler Ray Seals, was pulled over and beaten to death for no reason. The police got away with it too because they protected 'their own'.
Last month my boyfriend was pulled over for being black. In my state you are suppose to have probable cause too.
The police said they pulled him over because he put his high beams on. He had his high beams on because he was on a dark road that has no street lights. The other policeman even shrugged his shoulders like "I have no idea why he is doing this to you". They searched his car without asking him and no reason to. They even ripped down the ceiling liner and messed up the plastic moulding. Then they for no reason hulled him off to the ER to draw blood. The citation said he was pulled over for using his high beams and a dui charge for a 0.86 alcohol level. Today at court they said the blood test came back and it was 0.06.
The day after he got stopped Cedric Benson got harassed by police on a random check while on his boat.
There are a lot of bad cops out there but proving it in court is something else.
I know of many other incidents too.
JimGunther
Jun 25, 2008, 11:17 PM
Have you forgotten that Rodney King was leading police on a high-speed chase? They had every right to pull him over, but certainly not to beat him up. Like the person who started this thread, you are quick to reach the conclusion that a person is pulled over for no reason other than their race. BTW You can't use your high beams when other cars are in front of you no matter how dark the road is.
Again, how the H*** can police, or anyone for that matter, know the race of a person driving a car a night? Did you think of that? Try it for yourself some time and see if you can do it. Its not easy even in the day time.
You obviously know some people who told you that they were doing nothing wrong and that they were stopped because of their race. That doesn't mean it really happened-wrongdoers often blame the police or their victims for the legal binds they find themselves in. In case you haven't noticed, most drivers today are far from perfect and very few are going down the road "doing nothing wrong."
I first put on a badge when I became a police officer in the Air Force at age 18. I was a D.C. police officer, a store detective, a probation officer, and a court bailiff. I have seen cops pull all kinds of stuff on people for one reason or another-don't get me wrong, there are, as you say, some bad ones. But stopping people on the highway because of their race? I've never seen it happen and the fact that people keep claiming it does doesn't make it so.
If you look at what is going on in our country today, you will see that race is being used in an attempt to get away with all sorts of bad behavior. I see that people are arguing now that behavior by black students in school should be excused because of their cultural upbringing when it would not be accpetable by white students. Various groups are looking into the fact that more blacks are on death row than whites with the assumption that race is a factor even though these people have been through all sorts of due process to ensure they are there for the right reasons.
Almost every day I hear young black kids using the "N" word in public, and they seem to be proud and emboldened by the fact that they can use the word without the fear of any reprecussions while white kids can't. Some people even went so far as to bring up race when it came to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, an event that so overwhelmed resources that many, many people would not have received adequate emergency aid no matter what their race might be.
As our society progesses and generations racial interaction eventually cause us to reach the point that Dr. King dreamed of, where content of character rather than skin color is important, we will be better and better off. Raising false and unprovable claims that someone is being victimized because of their skin color slows us from reaching that goal.
If the claim is justified, then lets bring the sanctions of the justice system down on the head of the wrongdoer. If the claim is hearsay or simply wrong, as is your claim that Rodney King was stopped because of his race, then it is wrongdoing to raise the claim and it needs to be treated as such.
N0help4u
Jun 26, 2008, 07:35 AM
Okay maybe Rodney was pulled over for good cause but I do know that cops do pull over for no reason and often for race. My bf's charges are even being thrown out because you are suppose to use your high beams on dark roads and you can 'see the race' in some incidents.
Like you are driving down main road and cop is sitting at light (on left side of road) with head lights on.
JimGunther
Jun 26, 2008, 07:46 AM
You state that you know it happens, but were previously wrong in some of your statements, like Rodney King, and you offer no details to back up what you "know."
What I know is that police don't act that way and I know it from years of personal observation. If you "know" about incidents where it really happened, someone needs to get a lawyer and collect some big bucks for this horrible wrongdoing.
N0help4u
Jun 26, 2008, 08:13 AM
Check this story and vojtas history AND how the police covered for vojtas
Johnny Gammage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Gammage)
They beat him to death! By the way he was black too
N0help4u
Jun 26, 2008, 08:50 AM
Hard when you are the 'nobody' against the system that sticks together and rules against you
Despite community pressure in both Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the Department of Justice declined to bring a civil rights action against the officers and police departments involved.
excon
Jun 26, 2008, 08:51 AM
Hello:
There ain't no, "the cops", just like there ain't no "the exconvicts".
excon
JimGunther
Jun 26, 2008, 09:33 AM
The ALCU has prevailed on behalf of lotsa "nobodies", including American Nazis. Of course you have to have a real case and a person who has really been beaten to death will bring lotsa support from lotsa places.
Community pressure really doesn't matter in such cases if the knowable facts don't support a criminal case based on probable cause. The Constitution prohibits it if there is not enough evidence to satisfy the Fourth Amendment and our legal system and sense of justice demand a remedy if there is.
No such thing as "the cops?" I hear that term bantered around all the time. It generally refers to the anyone in the law enforcement profession who is empowered to arrest people.
N0help4u
Jun 26, 2008, 09:37 AM
Yeah the ACLU would be the way to go. Guess some people don't think of them.
I have seen too many bad police. More good than bad but I have seen the wrong the bad ones do.
excon
Jun 26, 2008, 10:19 AM
No such thing as "the cops?" I hear that term bantered around all the time.Hello again, Jim:
I wasn't referring to the word "cops". I was referring, as you did, to a body of individuals, some of whom do wrong. My point was, that it's incorrect to judge the body based on the actions of a few.
At the same time, I was pointing out that there is also a body of individuals collectively called exconvicts. I also made the suggestion that the actions of a few, should not define the body.
I don't expect you to agree - certainly not when it comes to defining exconvicts.
excon
N0help4u
Jun 26, 2008, 10:23 AM
Unfortunately a few bad apples in any cart can give the whole cart a bad name.
At the same time the bad cops do tend to be treated like the elephant in the room that others refuse to acknowledge as a bad thing.
JimGunther
Jun 26, 2008, 12:07 PM
Yup, I have seen some wrong by bad ones as well, and I have seen them being protected by their own. I guess there are good and bad in any occupation.
Yep, excon, the actions of a few should not define the whole, I think that applies to pretty much to any group.