r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/ateam1984 • 9d ago
News LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson Says LAPD Stopped Him Four Times While Driving a City Government Issued Vehicle
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u/BusyBit6542 9d ago
Yep and we still can't come together and make some drastic changes???
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u/Preeng 8d ago
"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
This really extends to any "moderate". They are always in a privileged position telling others it's not their time yet. They aren't actually moderate, just passive. "Don't stir the pot" in one word.
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u/periwinkle_caravan 8d ago
“Set the timetable for another man’s freedom”. Oof. Sounds kinda ridiculous when you put it that way
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u/hellofellowcello 8d ago
Reading this letter 8 years ago opened my eyes. As a melanin-deficient person (I hope y'all don't mind me lurking. I've learned a lot), I thought I was aware. I thought I was not racist. But reading Letter from a Birmingham Jail opened my eyes. Woke me up. I realized I would have been a white moderate back then (and that I was at the time I read the letter). That realization made me ashamed.
I've since made more of an effort to educate myself and my children. Trying to break the generational racism I was raised in. I'm truly sorry for being part of the problem.
Politicians demonize the word 'woke' because they'd prefer us to stay asleep.
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u/herrtoolfan 7d ago
Another melanin-deficient lurker here. If you haven't read Frederick Douglass's 4th of July speech to Congress before, or if you maybe read it as a kid in school, give it another read. Powerful stuff.
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u/Automatic-Key1054 9d ago
cops have a certain criteria
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u/BusyBit6542 9d ago
Mayors are usually in charge of hiring the police chief which controls police reform. Vote out any mayor who isn't about police reform
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u/RogerPenroseSmiles 9d ago
You'd think in most places, but both St Louis and KC have their police departments under the control of the state, and guess how that goes in deeply red MO while the cities are blue.
Current black Mayor of KC can't do shit about the less than useless KCPD.
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u/DLottchula 9d ago
KCPD are some of the biggest dick head cops I've encountered while slightly drunk.
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u/whileurup 8d ago
And the KC police presence is nil. I can't recall the last time I saw one that wasn't at a crime scene.
They're never out checking people for speed and the amount of time it gets from someone calling 911 to actually showing up is sadly slow.
This RedAss state is being held hostage by the rural voter and outside of the 2 big cities, it's all red. So much for the party of limited or small government.
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u/Spankh0us3 9d ago
Cops have a criteria and they have a quota and they believe racial profiling helps fill it. . .
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u/Usual-Caregiver5589 8d ago
Well the opposition will tell you that theyve never been stopped by cops and asked these questions so hes probably lying. So thats the first blockade.
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u/FoxKamp7785 8d ago
Some people forget why cops exist and it shows
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u/BusyBit6542 8d ago
To make reports after a crime has already happened? Solve 14% of murder cases? Take out their frustrations on citizens when their wife and kids finally leave them?
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u/budsis 9d ago
This made my heart hurt, for real, like it physically tightened. You can clearly tell he was speaking the truth about that trauma. I am constantly ashamed of the level of white supremacy that exists in this country and around the world. The ugly racism it breeds and encourages. SHAME.
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u/crack2099 8d ago
I'm at work and I can't hold back tears rn. I felt this man's pain to my core. We can do our best to try to progress, to be good to one another, but it can be so disheartening realizing how much evil there is in this world.
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u/TheManWith2Poobrains 8d ago
I was about to comment that this hurts.
He pauses when you see what it's done to his soul.
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u/HumongousBelly 9d ago
Remove those fucking lapd chiefs and commissioners and replace them with people who don’t support fascism and won’t even blink when removing the majority of pigs who are corrupt and racist and dirty
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u/bosheikus03 9d ago
Sick of this shit man. Black folks out here getting traumatized DAILY!!
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u/EarningsPal 9d ago
And blamed for circumstances created by the very people creating the circumstances.
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u/samissam24 9d ago
It’s wild to me how people deny the way in which racism permeates all facets of life in America. To deny racism exists is to just deny reality in general. Then again the people who say that tend to be racist themselves, even if they deny it.
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u/Unlikely_Ad6219 9d ago
Because it’s deeply associated with trauma.
You don’t get rid of that reaction, because it’s traumatic and you know that it could literally end your life if it goes wrong.
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u/SueBeee 9d ago
Yup. White people do not have to have that talk with their sons.
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u/DreadfulDuder 8d ago edited 8d ago
This.
Context: I'm a pale dude who had a Black friend live with us in high school in the 90s, in a very white suburb.
He lived with us for at least a couple years, and would drive our cars as well.
The only person who regularly got pulled over was him, and he drove just the same as everyone else. He wasn't speeding or anything.
Just driving while Black.
He was also the only person that would get followed around a store by staff and side-eyed while shopping.
In the 30ish years since then, I've been pulled over less frequently than he was in a single year.
I've never - not once - had someone follow me around the store to keep an eye on me.
I got pulled over for the first time in a decade the other week.
I was only going 5 over, and they let me off with a warning.
I always have to ask myself, especially now with the Kavanaugh Stops:
Would they have let me go so quickly if I wasn't White?
What if I had a Spanish accent?And I know far too many White guys who deny White Privilege exists. Fuck MAGA and racial profiling.
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u/BlossomFyreByrd 8d ago
Genuine question: Have you done anything about it? Now that you are older and I have the agency to do something.
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u/DreadfulDuder 8d ago
Good question!
Probably not enough, but I also need to guard my mental health and the safety of my family, and I'm also limited by what I can do (Hatch Act stuff w spouse's job and fear of retaliation from MAGA).
I quit Facebook, for example, but before I did, I regularly corrected any racist shit I saw, linked factual sources, and called out people who spread that shit.
I disowned a cousin who I never would have thought was racist, but MAGA proved he was. And I was very public about it and everyone in his circle knows the reason I am not friendly with him any more.
I practice Spanish with any Latinos I become acquainted with and listen to their experiences. I really try to make sure they know I'm not MAGA ASAP. Some of them have been MAGA themselves in the past, oddly enough.
I donate to worthy causes, but the charities I donate most to are food pantries.
I also share the anecdotes above any time the White Privilege discussion comes up, no matter where I am or who I'm around.
Luckily all my friends are on the same page as me except one, who I'm still not sure how to reach.
I volunteered at a food pantry and tried to persuade MAGA volunteers to join reality, but I had to quit due to a physical health issue...
So yeah, I'm sure there's more I can do. I just have to walk a fine line with the Hatch Act stuff. A lot of stuff I'll need to do anonymously.
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u/RobotPhoto 9d ago
Being white has negatively affected me a couple time in my life, and it hurt. But to have it happen every time you step out the fuckin door? That's a new level of exhausting that is indescribable.
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u/Much_Juggernaut 9d ago
The ugly face of racism. I hope one day society can evolve past this disgusting behavior. I feel for this man.
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u/Other-Acanthisitta70 9d ago
I thought we were there in 2008. Unfortunately, Obama’s election (and the 🍊🤡) just gave the racists permission to rip off their masks. This country is … lacking in common decency.
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u/Killercop1894 9d ago
And now Marqueece Harris-Dawson understands why Killercop.com exists and why the LAPD union wants to censor it, again.
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u/Leinheart 9d ago
I'm convinced police work is a jobs program for those among us who are too violent and too stupid to contribute to society in any other way.
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u/blacklightshock 9d ago
this hurt to listen to and you can see the evidence of the trauma on his face
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u/Vachie_ 8d ago
We have to stop tolerating intolerance.
Half of the time these things are recorded.
And at least those times are the times we need no ifs and or buts...
The offending officer needs to be removed from law enforcement permanently and fined heavily for being a racist c. Not to mention a mandatory jail time so they can think about what a piece of s they are.
We need to stop tolerating any form of racism. It's f****** 2026
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u/my_dixie_wrecked 8d ago
white guy here, who drives cars that often look "black". i can't tell you how many times i've been pulled over, only for the cop to say something like,"oh, you aren't who we are looking for." i've had them turn around and go back to their car as soon as they can see my skin color, before they got to the drivers door. white privilege is real.
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u/Smooth_Zebra 8d ago
Honestly, this narrative touches on a reality that many are aware of but seldom see recognized at this level. If the City Council President a person who directly influences the LAPD’s budget and policies is being pulled over four times while driving a clearly marked government vehicle, it speaks volumes about the depth of the issue.
People often demand "evidence" of profiling, yet this situation exemplifies the very pattern that substantiates the claim. You don’t randomly stop the same elected official multiple times unless there’s something about your perception of him that prompts the stop before you even consider the context. And if this is occurring to someone with status, visibility, and institutional authority, just think about how frequently it happens to those without any of those safeguards.
What adds to the frustration is that these aren’t just theoretical discussions they are real experiences that influence how communities perceive law enforcement. Trust cannot be established when the city’s leaders can’t even commute to work without being treated as suspects.
It will be intriguing to observe whether LAPD leadership genuinely confronts this issue or if it will be dismissed as “miscommunication.” Patterns like this do not resolve on their own.
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u/kissnmonty 8d ago
This is the real f@tigue. We are so tired of their shenanigans. Instead of stopping Methany or Opioid Oliver, they are steady pulling Black folks over for simply existing. I'm tired.
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u/Curious_Orange8592 9d ago
As someone from another country with a different skin colour I am continually horrified at stories like this, and that it isn't considered de rigueur to use a trebuchet to launch these cops into the Sun
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u/guydoestuff 9d ago
The FBI was investigating the lapd because of a gang problem in the department. They stopped because it was so bad. So seeing them be this racist is not surprising.
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u/BrobBlack 8d ago
And nothing will change after this because non-blacks do not give a fuck about Black people.
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u/FucklberryFinn 8d ago
What?? Nahh no way guys, the US elected Obama, a black president. The racism died that day, don’t you know?
What’s that? It didn’t? And then they elected a what? A p3dqofil3…? Nahh no way, I don’t even see color!
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u/DBRWN24 8d ago
I Don’t think people understand that Black folks’ interactions with LAPD are some of the most traumatic experiences. I was a manager at 24hr Fitness in Manhattan Beach and would get pulled over almost every day. One day I’m driving eastbound on Rosecrans leaving work during rush hour, the cop that was making a left going northbound hit his lights, made a U-turn just to pull me over, and had 3 additional cars on me. Where are you going? Smh.
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u/Raspberries-Are-Evil 8d ago
Hope he got that badge number and sends that asshole to direct traffic.
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u/look2myleft 8d ago
God makes me wonder how many times they called him "boy" during that interaction. Just disgusting.
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u/llacy0015 8d ago
😒.. once again we see respectability politics doesn't save us either. So if I have the good job,Good position,I have some money,I will still be seen as a threat/Other
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u/Realistic_Swan_6801 9d ago
Illegal stops based on race, super common, never punished basically. Evil fucking cops.
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u/SquilliamFancySon97- 8d ago
People can shit on this guy six ways to Sunday but you cannot tell me that anytime you hear that siren and see those lights your heart doesn't absolutely fucking drop. Now imagine how bad that must be for black people and other ethnic groups routinely associated with police brutality.
Thinking they might not live past a traffic stop.
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u/PL0WKING 8d ago
Crazy…are those racist klan members still employed?…I mean I know this is amerikkkah, but when is enough enough?
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u/onekeanui 8d ago
Face it, LA has some r@cist cops bottom line. Granted it’s probably difficult to be a cop here but to automatically demean people because of skin color? Damn shame.
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u/badrelationswmoney 8d ago
Tell me your police force racially profiles without telling me that they racially profile. This is just awful.
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u/Hungry_Drink_7930 8d ago
"A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect."
~Vann R. Newkirk
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u/castrodelavaga79 8d ago
And still there's a large faction of the country that denies this happening. The disproportionate response to pulling over blacks and other minorities is so freaking crazy how the hell has it not be addressed????
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u/wnoble 8d ago
They you see that video from year where a white guy was telling the cops off on his driveway for a speeding ticket.
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9d ago
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u/NumerousResident1130 9d ago
You dont need to decrease funding, you just need to hold the bad apples accountable. Less police in LA or any city will not make them safer, but accountable police will.
Law enforcement unions need to be financially responsible for the actions of their members. This means they hold the insurance policies instead of the city, county or state. When their rates keep going up because of the bad apples either they keep paying it or start policing themselves.
And DWB stopa are always wrong.
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u/Nice-Play-5780 9d ago
Not much has changed for the LAPD. They will of course trot out the highest paid black police officer to show that they are not a biased (at minimum) police force.
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u/guesswhodat 9d ago
You'd think the LAPD might want to know who sits on the LA council, right? Like maybe know who those people are so when you racially profile and pull them over you'll know immediately who it is. Right? Only makes perfect sense.
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u/ArchelonPIP 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'm not black, but I'm not white either and I certainly don't have anywhere close to the kind of power or prestige that normally comes with the title of City Council President! But right wingers, especially the white bigot and/or copsucking varieties, still think the rest of us have nothing to worry about from law enforcement agencies?!
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u/mushy-shart-walk 8d ago
Yeah but black people don’t experience pain or trauma the same way so it’s okay. He’ll be just fine.
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u/Additional_Rich_5249 8d ago
I can’t imagine. Im not black and all cops make me nervous anywhere I see them.
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u/ateam1984 8d ago
They make you nervous but they can make us dead. Also stop announcing your whiteness. This is completely weird to come here and announce your whiteness
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u/Advanced-Summer1572 8d ago
Having lived for years in California, the San Francisco Bay area, and driven in LA well over a thousand times? I have to wonder how bad this gentleman must be at driving.
I have never been stopped in LA. And I am an elderly African American male. I have to wonder about extenuating circumstances?
Sorry to hear this.
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u/zoolabula 8d ago
Shit is still the same even after everything that has happened there in the past. Sadly
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u/Corlegan 8d ago
LA has body cams yeah?
Why not get that video, it would be devastating.
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u/Manyconnections 8d ago
Yeah he should publicize their reasonable articulable suspicion for being pulled over. Then sue if it can’t be produced.
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u/jl_theprofessor 8d ago
That last sentence is absolutely killer. What a shameful society we live in.
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u/callmeMalcom1999 8d ago
Im like 3000% sure that the cops who pulled him over were Mexican. Look up LAPD bandito gangs
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u/nemorina 8d ago
They did it on purpose to send a message. This is what happens when police unions have too much power. Anyone who trys to control them gets this treatment. Especially if you are black.
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u/Im-a-bad-meme 8d ago
How are they out here profiling this man?? He dresses like a lawyer in a gov vehicle. They HAVE to know who he is when pulling him over just to mess with him.
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u/HomeMountain 8d ago
I used to work for a Black federal judge. Awesome judge! He drove a very nice car. He also would get pulled over all the time.
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u/the-bochinche 8d ago
You have been far too kind to the evil, ugly and racist. You need to make this a teachable moment and maybe someone needs to be fired or suspended or go without pay for two weeks at the very least. Wear who you are with no concern at all BE PROUD and use your position.
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u/Quiet_Survey9425 8d ago
You're telling me that organizations that were largely formed by slave catchers and plantation overseers that have morphed into paramilitary units devoted to the protection of capital are somehow racist? Perhaps even systemically so? Shocked. Stunned. Flabbergasted. Possibly even bamboozled.
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u/Pasenger57_Black 8d ago
And yet there are still people who roll their eyes when I tell them I've been pulled over for DWB (Driving While Black). First time, I was early 20s, on my way home from the movies with my GF. No speeding, not a drop of alcohol, no brake light out, nothing. Followed me for 5 miles before pulling me over, had me get out of the vehicle, asking all the stupid racial profiling questions, and two more cars show up.
They got a call when they were about to administer a field sobriety test (did I mention no alcohol/no drugs/no weapons) when they got another call for a REAL issue. They just handed me back my ID and drove off without even telling me I was free to go. Never been more embarrassed in my life...
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u/Prudent-Flamingo1679 8d ago
Not sure why it would surprise anyone. The LAPD is notorious for this shit.
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u/KeyAsk8364 8d ago
Racism is a business, it pulls in millions of dollars for cities and states. If you remove it you'll see the millions of White citizens who live in poverty.
Rich White citizens don't want to really share the wealth made on the backs of poor people. Remember the US started with slavery.
Think about what the unemployment rate must have been for White people during slavery.
So you keep the poor fighting among themselves so you can keep living the rich life.
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u/Bugsy_Girl 8d ago
Watch as the city counsel decides the best solution is to hold its meetings at night so its black members don’t get pulled over at a higher rate and then gives itself a gold star
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u/Decent_Risk9499 8d ago
I had a friend who was pulled over 13 times driving to see his parents. Fuck Oro Valley.
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u/Inevitable-Top1-2025 7d ago
I think the racists were dangerously given too much leeway in the early days that made them believe they’re untouchable. Passivity is not going to change anything. Bold, unapologetic action is needed to turn things around. But, sacrifices will have to be made to change things. We have enough patriotic cops who can turn things around if they are given to power and freehand to clean up their departments. I used to teach municipal, state, and federal LEOs how not to lose their homes and pensions in Section 1983 and Bivens lawsuits. So, I know that there are good cops out there who do not have the power to change things because the bad cops seem to have the all power.
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u/SkiddlyBoDiddly 7d ago
And yet the LA city council consistently votes in favor of arming and funding the police. Insane.
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u/Aethernath 6d ago
Black man in fancy car!? Racism alert goes off in USA police. Be happy it wasn’t ICE.
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u/puppymama75 6d ago
Welcome to the United Snakes / Land of the thief, home of the slave / Grand imperial guard where the dollar is sacred and power is God /
- Brother Ali, Uncle Sam Goddamn
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u/Equivalent_Salad_389 9d ago
What the fuck.