Every day that you live, because of racial profiling there is a possibility that you may have a deadly encounter with the police. When I was at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law studying for my first law degree I served as Chief Prosecutor for the University of Pittsburgh Student Judiciary. My responsibilities included prosecuting cases against students in the entire university system. I never lost a case. I was also a Resident Assistant assigned to Tower C. 

I was popular, powerful and at the top of my game. I had the world by the tail. One night I was walking to the Dirty O (a popular eatery) with two of my white charges (residents under my charge). I was telling them that I can put you in jail and I can get you out! They laughed and seemed to be comforted to be in the company of such a powerful man when all of a sudden three University of Pittsburgh police officers yelled at the three of us to stop. We continued to walk because I just knew they weren’t yelling at me. I was wrong. One of the officers a Hispanic man yelled at me with his gun drawn “Stop or I’ll blow your (MF head off!) We stopped and the officers approached us. When they recognized me they returned their guns to their holsters and apologized repeatedly. They said that they had received a report that three drunken students had pinched a girl on the butt. I was very nice to them and I had the Hispanic officer fired the following day because of his outrageous behavior. I later learned that the university already had numerous complaints against the Hispanic officer. 

Today I carry in my telephone contact list the personal cell phone and home numbers of many of the key players in America. For the last thirty years I have been two phone calls from the President of the United States of America. If I shall ever have another encounter with law enforcement officers I would handle it much like I did on an isolated portion of Interstate 20 around 2am one Saturday morning. I was driving the late Mrs. Viola P. Green back home to Athens Georgia. Mrs. Green was very fair complexioned with sea blue eyes and I believe the Troopers thought she was a white woman. When I pulled over to the side of the interstate they asked me to get out of the car. I exited the car and immediately told them in one breath, “You know I know Maynard Jackson, Corretta Scott King, Daddy King, Julian Bond. The lady in the car is Marion “Duke” Greene’s mother. One of the white troopers said you (expletive) me. I said no. They started laughing. One of them said, “Man you know everybody!” I told them that I use to be student body president at Morehouse College. The trooper said that they pulled me over because they saw me weaving, but they could see now that I wasn’t drunk. They were very friendly because I was friendly first. I recognized the anxiety that law enforcement officers have when they encounter an unknown individual. I quickly let them know that I was not a thug. I gave them respect and they returned it to me. 

If you encounter a police officer that does not treat you with respect I suggest that you continue to give him respect by saying “yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am and deal with him or her later. You can take the officer’s badge number and report the officer to his or her superiors. If I were to encounter a disrespectful Montgomery Police Officer I would call his or her boss Chief Art Baylor and then Mayor Bobby Bright on their personal cell phones. 

Sometimes you don’t get an opportunity to show the police officer that you aren’t a thug. On February 4, 1999 Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by four New York City police officers. On April 7, 2001 19-year old Timothy Thomas is killed by Cincinnati police officer Stephen Roach; Kenneth B. Walker, a 39-year old husband and father, is fatally shot by a Muscogee County, Georgia, sheriff’s deputy. The victims were unarmed. None of the victims had committed a crime. None of the officers were convicted for the killings. 

The truth is that because of racial profiling any encounter between a black person and law enforcement can result in the death of the black person, even if they are unarmed and law-abiding. And everyone knows that chances are the officers will probably not face criminal charges for the killing. This is wrong, but until we can correct it be extremely careful how you deal with law enforcement officers your life could depend on it. If you get the chance to show them respect chances are they will return it to you. I preach this to my sons every day. “Be as respectful as you can to the man or woman with the gun and badge!

In the words of my dad, “If you don’t have money at least have class!”

Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com