Flashing Lights

Written by: RB3

This is a military state. No one in or out without the support and sanction of Giuliani. If you are not one of his people or have enough cash in your pocket to make the cops think twice about unlawfully searching you, you are trapped and under curfew. Any inclination to the boys in blue, that you might be a little off color to them, could mean that you’ll end up with a few more holes in your car by the time you’ve made it back to your apartment.

Coming from Detroit the sultry sounds of sirens are always reminding me of home sweet home. As police and ambulances rush through the streets of New York, to their next point of engagement, my brain dances to the musical aura provided by the sirens. One thing that I do notice is that I feel a different way when I hear the sirens out here. They were familiar but not welcoming (I know right…) – When are sirens ever welcoming?!?!

What I notice is that the Police are not usually the ones with their sirens on blast driving through the streets. It was the ambulances. They race across the city from home base to some tragic scene and wait for coffee. Sure we see cops blast the siren for a second as they run red lights or just flashing the lights and tapping the siren when they are pulling someone over. But when do you ever see them doing anything you would actually support?

All I truly see are ambulances racing to crime scenes, yet coming out with no survivors and cops reluctantly making it to the scene 30 minutes later. When do you ever see cops RACING to the scene of a crime when it has nothing to do with another cop or an overly large mass of people without their supervision – A PROTEST PERHAPS!?!?

Questions of the day:
• How many police do you see in a day, doing something or nothing at all?
• How many times do you see police running lights without their sirens already on?
• How many do you see pulling over cars and walking the streets – or just eating donuts or doin’ it Starbucks today?
• How many ambulances do you actually see putting people in the emergency vehicle and taking them to the hospital?

Tags: Society | May 9, 2008 |

34 Comments, Comment or Ping

Malia

One of my cousins is a teacher for the Tulsa Public School District. He says from the moment his students leave the school, doing what kids do (just being kids), the police are circling them on bikes, telling them to move along or to stop being smart-mouthed or to get out of the street. If there’s a fight, officers sometimes bring out the police dogs. We’re talking about Junior High kids around 13/14. And if they linger or don’t stay on the sidewalk they are cited for jaywalking….WTF?!?!?! I don’t know about yall, but when we got out of school we liked to hang out and clown a little before hitting the books. I’m wondering does this happen in white communites as well or just in the hood???? Because right now as I see it, they open a window into the clashing perceptions of police and the black communities they say they are trying to protect.

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff reply on May 9, 2008 11:12 am:
many do it but jaywalking is actually against the law. cops in general realize it’s silly but unsafe (ppl getting hit for walking against the light) and it’s not critical to enforce this. BUT get a new person on the job- they may cite you with a warning…

the purpose is to ensure your ass doesnt get hit or create an unnecessary accident. that’s what the lights are for. who doesnt walk when the lights say dont walk, a few small kids, some who know they are hell as slow and know better..

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff

it varies in yonkers. the other night as me and my son were going home, we were about to turn onto our block and saw a van in front of an unmarked jeep with flashing lights. van guy was pressed against the van and the officer (plain clothes) was very close to him, whispering. the guy didnt struggle or was difficult but apparently something he said (maybe he had alcohol on the breath) wasn’t too pleasant to the officer and out went the cuffs. i slowed down just enough to see if there’d be some police misconduct AND i wanted my son to see what was happening. guy gets cuffed, cop’s whispering in his ears and i turned the corner. it’s hard to say what i was driving towards because anything’s possible- van going through some stop signs a few blocks back or could have sped or gone through a light.

[Reply]
Malia reply on May 9, 2008 10:44 am:
I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I’m still tippin off the video footage of the police beating the other day. Didn’t the police hear the helicopter up in the air? They had to know they were going to be filmed. Did you see how they dragged dude across the asphalt by his face??????

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff reply on May 9, 2008 10:47 am:
Yeah that was crazy!!! Seven more police officers were taken off street duty though while they do the investigation. That gave me Rodney King flashbacks.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 12:11 pm:
I watched it too. I was so amazed I started laughing, but not because it was funny, because it amazed me that the cops didnt care if the helicopters were watching. I’m writing about it. I want to really express my mind on this nonsense.

[Reply]
"A Mom" reply on May 9, 2008 1:54 pm:
I don’t even think they hear the helicopters, they become raged. And some (not all) have their own issues of low self-esteem.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 2:17 pm:
Shit, they may have even been performing for the cameras…

[Reply]
j2007_j2007

Lots.

I live in a heavily-pretty much safe patroled
area just outside of Los Angeles County.

The nightlife is cool because their are usually lots
of people on the street visiting the many trendy venues
I live around.

I can also pretty much walk to and from the beachfront
properties and through the business district at midnight
with my kids.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 12:32 pm:
How many engage with the people in a constructive way?

[Reply]
RBIII

I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you for a minute that I don’t believe all cops are corrupt. For the most part I do, but when I meet A MAN/WOMAN that happens to be a police officer then I treat them as what they are a MAN/WOMAN not what I assume them to be - pigs.

I don’t know a real MAN/WOMAN that wouldn’t just talk to a kid about crossing the street and perhaps give them a ticket as a result of the kid being an asshole to them.

Their motto is “to protect and serve” they are doing neither by accosting junior high children. They aren’t protecting them, they are tryin to bring back the Spartan police state by instilling complete fear in them to do anything. First you can’t hangout at school after school, then you can’t cross the street to just go home, next thing you know every child will be living in barracks waiting for food rations and their chores for the day. Their won’t be anymore school because laborers don’t need school they need supervision.

I emplore this do not see the single picture. See the vision. If a cop beats a man in front of his peers, what does that do to the man and his people? It begins to instill an emotion and a reaction that is invoked by the sight of these people everytime we them - *scoff* PIGS! If a cop beats a man in front of his son or family, what kind of effects does that have in the long run? What place are cops trying to keep you in? There is so much more going on in the underlying scheme of things when cops are being brutal, corrupt and malevolent.

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff reply on May 9, 2008 1:40 pm:
this is the problem. there’s a huge assumption that ALL cops are corrupt. that is not the case. some go into the force to take control and do bad things for that to happen. some go because they truly want the communities to be a safe environment. some join because of personal vendettas.

as i’ve said in another group- it’s wrong to assume from both sides. cops cannot assume all people are bad because of their demeanors, people cannot assume all cops are bad because they wear the uniform.

in another group, i was upset at seeing ‘fuck the police’. now would you say that very thing when you are in danger and police is right there? no, you’d want them to help you.. or perhaps some would rather die at the hands of a stranger than for a cop to help. who knows. all i know is that i have a young man in training and i cannot instill into him to hate and fear ALL cops. I can only try to guide him on how handle situations with cops- try to detect the good from the bad, document and speak up. but definitely, i’d want him to turn to a cop for help if he needs it. hopefully, he will get a good one.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 1:57 pm:
The craziest thing about the whole situation is that the fear has been instilled in the officers themselves. It’s sad but it’s true. When cops harass a group of junior high school students they’re not seeing them as kids, they’re seeing them as future felons. They’re thinking to themselves, “if I don’t let these kids know that as an officer I am to be respected then in 5 years they’ll run all over me.”

I think it’s unrealistic to think we can get by without the police. They have a very important job. To me, the problem is not about individual officers. To me, it’s about the culture of policing and how it has bred a mindstate that the relationship between police and the community is a rivalry.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan

I had the opportunity to to do a ride-along with the NYPD. I sat in the back of a police vehicle while two officers patrolled a section of the south Bronx.

One thing I immediately noticed was how aware cops are. They’re in the car listening to both the police radio and the car’s radio , having a conversation and surveying cars and people on the street. They read body language. They sight measure if a group of teenagers is too large. They measure cars’ breaking habits. I could tell that they are well trained.

The thing that gets me though is that they trained in body language and shit like that but they’re not trained to become a part of the communities the work in. Where’s they training that says this is how you start a conversation with a bunch of kids on the block. Where’s the training that says this is what the community hates when you do it. Where the training that says smile…

We are in a police state, which means they have to do a better job at creating positive relationships with the community. If not, the community is gone get sick of they bullshit and shoot back…

[Reply]
"A Mom" reply on May 9, 2008 1:47 pm:
I totally agree with that. Body language doesn’t you a criminal, if that was the case a lot more of us would be in jail.
They say that some people become police because they use to be picked on when they were children. This is a way for them to get out their aggression.
My Brother has been and officer for 26 years. I must say he is not happy with what he see each day not just on the streets but inside. The hold thing has made him see both sides. He is not proud of his co-workers.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan

TWO QUICK QUESTIONS:

• How y’all feel about the “Stop Snicthin” movement?

…AND

• Why is it acceptable to say “fuck the police” and not “fuck the troops?”

[Reply]
"A Mom" reply on May 9, 2008 1:49 pm:
I can’t agree with the “stop snicthin” movement. Things need to change. How can they?
I do think that there are good police as a hold.

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff reply on May 9, 2008 1:57 pm:
i think snitching is important. it’s an unsafe move i must admit but to sit and say nothing and let crimes happen- that’s not the move.

i cannot say ‘fuck the troops’ because they are doing their jobs. understand something here Malia. people enlist for various reasons- because it’s a family thing (gramps, dad, uncle, cousin, etc), because they really believe in defending their country and want to do their part, because they want free educations and opportunities to travel the world. i would say the majority who enlist fall in the last catagory not realizing a war is possible in this day and age. no one thought that this war would last what is it now- 5 years? and you do know that going AWOL and the like is an automatic prison sentence. so- you stay enlisted, fight or you go to prison. you are considered a traitor if you break out. and i know they’ve made it even tougher to become discharged.. . the troops didnt create the war. they are caught in the middle and i feel badly for them.

now if you ask me about the troops that are raping and murdering (using their military influences to cover up their hate and so forth)- they need serious attention, not those who are trying to defend and protect our country. this response hold true for the police. those who have good intentions, no, i cant say to hell with them. those who are making matters worse for cities and this country as a whole because they want to act fool- yeah.. fuck them.

[Reply]
Malia reply on May 9, 2008 2:01 pm:
I agree! I called the police when I witnessed my neighborhood market being robbed. When I went in later and told the owner that I was the one who called the incedent in, he looked at me like I had committed the crime! He has never treated me the same since! I’m like efff HIM!!!! It makes me wonder if my random act of kindness was all for nothing????

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff reply on May 9, 2008 2:09 pm:
no it wasnt for nothing.. you did the right thing and i bet at the moment, he didnt realize it but later on he did. kindness we take for granted but we do things not for reciprocation but because it’s the right thing to do.

i personally do not understand how anyone could watch their community be torn apart and not say anything. no one says you HAVE to give your name or anything. could send a letter and sign it ‘anon’. with convincing, things can be investigated and crimes could go down. but these thugs have put so much fear into our communities, they are running the show.

so at that point, do the people have the right to complain about the way things are going if they are not doing things to change them? it cannot be entirely up to the police if they are not to be trusted- right?

[Reply]
"A Mom" reply on May 9, 2008 5:42 pm:
You did the right thing. He is reacting to his own fear.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 2:15 pm:
If a free education and the opportunity to see the world comes because you decide to take up arms in the name of an imperialistic, capitalistic minority that runs shit in American, I can’t say fuck you. I support education and seeing the world but I don’t support the fact that there are a lot more innocent people murdered at war than there are by the police. The military is America’s global police department.

[Reply]
Reuben reply on May 9, 2008 2:11 pm:
I put both concepts in with the same basket of idiocy and ignorance
that took nigger to nigga and thought they did something positive.

If the same idiots had half a brain then they would realize that if
they said “fuck the thugs” and stopped tolerating black-on-black
destructive behaviors in their neighborhood. …THEN they would have
the absolute moral high ground to prosecute bad cops. Now I’m not
saying that a few “bad apples” gives the cops the right to kill any
black men at will….but why should I get mad at a cop for killing ONE
black man when the thugs and wannabe “gangstas” are killing SEVERAL black men every day. The death of any innocent person is wrong but I have more to fear from the thugs than I do from the cops.

I say “Stop Bitchin’” cause the enemy of my enemy is my friend and the thugs/gangstas/ etc. will always be my enemy.

[Reply]
Boosy

stop snitching is an example of the enormity of misinformation in the black community.

[Reply]
TROUBLMan reply on May 9, 2008 1:31 pm:
Please elaborate…

[Reply]
Boosy reply on May 9, 2008 3:57 pm:
the policing in these neighborhoods as somoene said earlier is part of the notion that the police see and are living a self fulfilling prophecy of crime for black youth..then the community thinks by being quiet they are protecting…instead they let crime run thru “their” neighborhoods….

in the so called “white” which should be called by what they are middle class and higher neighborhoods…

Let us NEVER say” white people” when we mean “people with money” because it makes an assumption that there are not quite a number of black families that are caking in dough and are neither athletes nor entertainers….

like i was saying in these well to do neighborhoods, you better believe if a crime happens someone is reporting it…obviously that is also because this community feels “safe” with their police….

[Reply]
mrschocolatestuff

like i said before. it’s bad assumptions coming from both ends.

you dress like a thug, you MUST be a thug. and thug=drugs=weapons= trouble. so to nip that in the bud early, you clip those wings. however, you should never judge a book by it’s cover.

at the same time, if police sleep on true thugs- oh shit for everyone. so now here’s what they see:

nicely dressed guy + nice car= may be selling drugs or weapons=trouble
strangely dressed guy+ nice car= same deal or car has been stolen from nicely dressed guy
nicely dressed guy+hooptie= could be left alone but check to be sure
strangely dressed guy+hooptie= sane deal

we see:

uniformed cop=trouble (no one can say they dont get a chill)
uniformed cop with an attitude= more trouble
plainclothes cop with an attitude= bigger trouble
uniformed good cop=good person
plainclothes good cop=good person

no one has time to assess a person or the situation. it’s do first, think later if that ever comes up.

over the years, you’ve got bad asses joining the force. shit, they will have a badge and a gun. in their heads- they rule. sure they know they will be hated amongst the masses but shit, badge+gun=power to the fullest extent.

consider this Philly cops beating. if it wasn’t for the helicopter flying over, we’d probably wouldnt know what was going on. i dont know why this happened or how it escalated to the point where 3 guys were beaten by cops but was it a case of:

bad guys+bad move+good cops=bad situation?

good guys+bad move+bad cops=bad situation?

bad+bad+bad= bad?

i dont think they were stopped and yanked out of their cars. for EVERY action there is a REACTION.

[Reply]
EDDIE

I feel a lot of people talk that “stop snitching’” stuff until something hits “home”
then, you want everyone to talk, to give information. not all police are “dirty”,
but they also live in a “stop snitchin’ ” world. the Thin Blue Line as been around forever, and until the good cops help get rid of the dirty cops, and the community fail to assist the police in getting out information, we’ll continue to trust one another. As for the Troops, I cant say fuck the troops, they are no more than pawns in the game of war. I fuck the people that put them in harms way. especially when it has nothing to do with defending our country.So far the troops are no more than fodder for an administration that don’t have our well being at heart.
Right now, Albsuto (bush) is requesting 110 billion dollars for “emergency” funding for the troops,saying he is for troops, yet he is against funding the GI Bill for the very same troops,that he is putting in harms way in Iraq. Bush says “putting more money in the GI Bill
is too generous for the troops, so the GI Bill that is available now is not enough to pay college
for the men and women that put on the uniform.It’s not their fault, they are just following orders, The President,Congress, and idiots who put those stupid ribbons on their cars
claim to support the troops,yet don’t want to pay the price to “REALLY” support them.

[Reply]
Boosy

it’s really not about saying “fuck the troops”…that to me is an ignorant statement. I have friends fighting over there and i will not let politics allow me to devalue their lives..not to say that supposedly over 100,000 iraqis have been killed by our bullets and no ones counting…

are we a little ambiguous..i think so….

[Reply]
TROUBLdMami

First and foremost, I will NEVER say “fuck the troops”…They are more courageous then we can ever imagine on a certain level…However, when it comes to the police, I am have to say I am ambiguous about that topic, because as much as I do not like the police, if something were to happen and they needed to be called I have to call them. So, they provide some sort of ‘goodwill’…a ’service’…But, I will always have that memory of a police officer yelling across the street to me calling me a “bitch”, and saying “fuck you” and other demeaning slurs…When we look at police vs. the troops, police are more relevant and familiar to us, because we deal with them on a more day to day basis, versus the military who we deal with more vicariously ( for some it may be day to day, but that is because it is a relative or what not)…

[Reply]
RB3

Let us be brutally honest with the situation. You can not trust law enforcement of any kind. I have friends and family in the military and they can say that they are not proud of what they are doing or what their co-workers are doing. Yea they’re over there dying for whatever it is politics has deemed this war about, and we’re behind them, but what are they doing to the Iraqi people - the same things they are doing to our people here. Instilling fear and making dangerous assumptions that end up killing innocence (in which ever way you’d like to see that) is not what I support my troops doing.

I do not support the police in the same situations. We should not fear those who are supposed to protect us. There was a time when cops were afraid of the people, at least where I’m from. For a time they were afraid to pull people over for fear of being shot themselves. Fear over something so trivial as a ticket. Well, when the driver of that speeding car knows that 4 cops raped his sister after they beat him unconscious my I feel for him and the cop in the situation, because both will carry more pain than should be burdened.

If you wanna raise a man, let him know how to have respect for those who say they have authority. But let him know the second the boundaries are crossed he should not think, but react positively. Cause running will, get you killed, talking loose could get you killed, anything other than the norm could get you killed in the eyes of an officer or a troop. The troops are not looking at us now, they are looking at a different set of color in the Crayola box, but fret not, they are gonna get around to us very soon.

[Reply]
TROUBLdMami reply on May 10, 2008 1:34 pm:
What is a positive reaction? When raising a man you should teach him to have respect for everyone, regardless the level of authority. The problem here is getting respect in return and the ideal that one should rather be feared than loved.

[Reply]
Boosy

unfortunately, i feel that the politics of fear works better in controlling the masses than love……thats why the police and military work in that way…..

[Reply]
Learn me Something

well, sometimes i just don’t know.

i got pulled over LAST NIGHT!
i had a lil something IN HAND and boy was it a bad look.
pulled the flame down at the last second before me and the blue had a clear line of sight but obviously they still seen me.
easily smelled the nature flowing out the car from an earlier engagement and i was drinking a few hours ago(under 21 too).
(i DEFINITELY was breaking a couple laws)

after asking about drinking and updated registration that didn’t seem to come up when he ran my plates, cop says, “it’s probably not a good idea to smoke marijuana while you’re driving, right?” i answer with a simple, “probably not”.
he then asks,” i don’t need to tear your car apart looking for marijuana do i?” and i answer another simple, “naw” and i get a smile and my license and i get to ride on with my night..

not the first time i’ve had an encounter like this at all!
so either i can talk to cops or i’m lucky?
did i get a nice cop or one who just doesn’t care to do his job?
i don’t knowww.. EYE personally can’t talk down on them from my experiences but hmmmm.. what to think?

[Reply]

TROUBL

Flashing Lights

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