The writer is a political commentator and long-time resident of downtown Detroit.
By Adolph Mongo
Killings of black men and women by police officers over traffic stops have ignited a much heated debate over race and the policing of the black community throughout the country.
I've come into contact with police officers from several different communities and several different agencies over alleged traffic violations over the years. Until now, the majority of those contacts were of a professional nature. That changed Wednesday night.
After leaving a meeting at a local restaurant, I headed down Jefferson to another meeting when I was stopped by a Detroit officer in a white traffic control car at Jefferson and McDougall, east of I-75. He said that I had run a red light. He asked for the usual -- license, registration and proof of insurance.
He then made a negative remark about my new, red Mustang convertible. I reached in my glove compartment and gave him a copy of my registration and proof of insurance and reached in my back pocket to retrieve my license. It wasn’t there. I had just paid my tab at the restaurant and must have left my wallet behind. I told the officer that. He didn't care. His laugh was of a sinister nature.
He went back to his car. I made a call to retrieve my wallet. It was at the restaurant. Someone was bringing it to me. The officer, a middle-aged African-America man, came back and said “your license is not valid, your insurance is bogus and I am going to have to impound your car.”
I told him I had just brought this car. It was new. And I couldn’t buy it without valid insurance or driver's license.
“You probably paid cash for it or got it some other way,” he said in a threatening tone, suggesting I was a drug dealer. “I am going to give you three tickets and take the car.”
“I said my car insurance is valid. Let me call them? Someone is bringing my wallet over. “
“Shut up. I should arrest you.,” he said. “ There is a warrant for your arrest in Flint.”
“Are you kidding me,” I said. “I have not been in Flint in over 25 years.”
I told him, if in fact I have a warrant (which I did not) to go ahead and arrest me.
I told him to get away from my car. He started searching it. I told him he couldn't do that without a search warrant.
"I can do whatever I want," he said.
"To imply I was a thief and stole the car -- well, that's over the top."
Things Escalate
We started arguing. Another police car came on to the scene. That officer did not get out of the car. Things escalated.
I called someone I knew in the department and he told me to request that a supervisor come on the scene. I then asked the officer to call a supervisor.
“I see you are naming dropping”, he said in a belligerent tone.
“No,"I said, "I'm just calling someone who is a professional. I didn’t steal this car. I have all the proper paper work and I am not wanted in Flint. “ After initially saying that he wasn't calling a supervisor, he finally agreed to make that call.
Meantime, a tow truck appeared and proceeded to put my convertible on the flatbed truck. The officer told the driver to stop. And he made a call.
Three or four motorcycle cops appeared and two more police cars. A supervisor also appeared on the scene and told me to calm down and he would try to get to the bottom of the situation.
The supervisor then said he tried to call my insurance but got no answer, which is a lie. I pulled up my proof insurance on my smart phone and tried to show him that I had insurance and gave him my registration.
The supervisor didn’t care to look. When my wallet got there, that didn't seem to matter either. He said my license was not valid. I had no outstanding tickets that I knew of, and had never been notified of my license being invalid. As far as I knew, it was valid.
Totally Baffled
Nonetheless, the supervisor said: "We have to take your car.”
I was baffled. Was impounding a car after a traffic stop standard practice?
He asked: "Do you want to make a complaint?
"Yes,” I said, " but not to you."
Eight cops for one-traffic ticket. Didn't make sense. All because of a traffic stop and a cop who was very unprofessional, belligerent and eager to impound my vehicle.
Was it because I was black? How could it be? Of the eight cops on the scene, seven were black.
I don't have a problem with police doing their job. I respect police. But to imply I was a thief and stole the car -- well, that's over the top. Plus, it was all done with such disrespect, suggesting I must be a thug, dealer or thief.
They ended up towing my Mustang. A relative drove me to the impound lot and I ended up getting my car back after paying $215, thanks to the help of a very professional police official.
I have lived downtown for more than 30 years, and since the influx of white hipsters and new businesses and restaurants, cops of both colors have increasingly harassed black males. It's not only the Detroit police. Black males get harassed by Dan Gilbert's private police force as well.
Dark Memories of '70s
The traffic stop, in my case, reminded me of the 1970s when police cars carrying four big white cops who were tasked with harassing and abusing black residents of the city.
This city was rocked by two major races riots in the last century. It's clear we still have issues to address.
Downtown, it seems, has become a playground for young white professionals and it has become clear that blacks of any socio-economic status are not welcome.
