Two days after my sixteenth birthday, a few friends and I decided to go skate downtown. We had just got a camera a few weeks before, so we planned to go film for a video we were working on. We decided to skate a spot that we have been to several times next to the Nationwide Arena.
Before we drove to the spot, we decided to get some drinks at a gas station, and as we left, we realized that a cop was following us. We didn't have anything to worry about, so we ignored the cop and continued to the spot. As we were pulling into the Nationwide Arena parking lot, we looked back and we shocked to see the cop still behind us. He immediately turned the sirens on and we stopped the car.
"Where's the weed at," was the first words to come out the officers mouth. Our friend in the back seat giggled and the cop ordered us to get out of the car and sit on the curb. My friend asked the officer if we did anything wrong, and the cop pushed him to the ground, calling him a “smart ass.” As the cop proceeded to search the car, we all looked at each other, questioning whether or not this was some sort of TV show prank.
After a ten-minute search, the cop returned to the curb empty handed. He then began to ask each of us several questions as he went down the line, and then it was my turn. I’ve never had to deal with the cops, so I was very nervous; when he asked me my age, I replied, "15 sir.........uh I mean 16." Although my birthday just past, I was still used to saying my age was fifteen.
This answer really irritated the cop, and he told me to stand up. He proceeded by putting me in handcuffs and placing me in the back of his car. After searching the rest of my friends, he let me go and gave us a bullshit excuse as to why he pulled us over; We didn't turn on our blinker the proper distance away from the turn.
After a ten-minute search, the cop returned to the curb empty handed. He then began to ask each of us several questions as he went down the line, and then it was my turn. I’ve never had to deal with the cops, so I was very nervous; when he asked me my age, I replied, "15 sir.........uh I mean 16." Although my birthday just past, I was still used to saying my age was fifteen.
This answer really irritated the cop, and he told me to stand up. He proceeded by putting me in handcuffs and placing me in the back of his car. After searching the rest of my friends, he let me go and gave us a bullshit excuse as to why he pulled us over; We didn't turn on our blinker the proper distance away from the turn.
Based off this experience, I get nervous every time a cop is around. Cops have the power to pull you over for anything, and there is nothing you and do about it. Even though the cop didn't act violently towards us , I believe the cop was abusing his power to scare us. Although he claimed he was pulling us over for the blinker, it was clear that the cop was profiling and assuming that a group of teenagers were into drugs.
One of my roomates had a very bad experience with the police just yesterday night on his way home from work. He already was not a big fan of the police before last night. Three months before he lost his license because he didn't have insurance, but then he ended up getting reinsured a month later. So, last night he was driving home and got pulled over for his license plate light being broken. Then the cop proceeds to tell him that his license were still suspended. So, he got two tickets. My friend then proceeded to finish the drive home and got pulled over a second time for the same thing. However this time when the cop talked to him my friend said that he already got a ticket for the light and the cop being a smart ass said " well, since you already got a ticket I suppose I'll be a nice guy and not give you another," and then laughed and walked away. My friend was really pissed off when he got home.
ReplyDeleteReading this blog really pissed me off for the fact that cops do stupid shit like that. I am sorry that you had to go through that. I have a few friends that went through the same thing they were pulled over for some bullshit reason and two of them had to get in the back of the police car the other two were being frisked. Eventually they were allowed to go about their business, but that is still stupid that cops do that. Also I am nervous when cops come around me when I`m driving because I don`t want to get pulled over.
ReplyDeleteWell-written post, Antonio, but could you substantially tie in how it relates to skateboarding? That really isn't clear here.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, this is so true. When I read this it made me mad. This made me so mad because I have had experience very similar to this one. I feel like cops abuse there power way to much. Its almost like guys who used to get beat-up in high school become cops because they want to treat people the way they used to be treated. Of course they would think you have drugs just because your teenagers, pretty much indicating all teenagers are bad. That can be such a stereotype. I enjoyed reading this blog very much.
ReplyDeleteI just had a cop do a similar thing to me last weekend. I was driving on highway 33 towards Columbus and had a van that was getting on my nerves, for he kept speeding up, slowing down, and passing me. I just kept going around him when he would slow down. Then of course, one time that I go to go around him I spead up to about 72 and just as I go to put my blinker on a cop spots me and pulls me over.
ReplyDeleteHe told me I was doing 78 even though I wasn't. So anyway he really ticked me off and didn't even put an address on the ticket for me to mail the money in.
So anyway I know how cops can be and stuff.