I think it is a stretch to go from LEOs disproportionately stop black drivers to this particular state attorney was stopped because she was black. It is quite possible that in that city, black drivers are not stopped more often. Not all LEOs are racist.
I’ve not said anything about why the state attorney was stopped.
The fact remains that LEOs tend to treat people differently based on race. The perception of those being stopped - that many stops are for DWB - is well supported by evidence. Whether all LEOs are “racist” is beside the point. Officers who stop for DWB look just like those who don’t.
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Might I remind members of the forum rules: “Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others."
and
“College Confidential forums exist to discuss college admission and other topics of interest. It is not a place for contentious debate. If you find yourself repeating talking points, it might be time to step away and do something else… If a thread starts to get heated, it might be closed or heavily moderated.”
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/guidelines
Let’s omit the following types of comments from posts, please:
• You clearly don’t understand
• Why don’t you go back and read…
• So let me rephrase so that you understand…
Aside from not being helpful, they are ToS violations. And to be crystal clear, using similar phrasing to the above violates ToS.
If a user is misbehaving, flag the post; don’t respond in kind. Additionally, please refrain from flagging posts, including this one, simply because you disagree with content. And if you flag a post complaining about a user’s behavior, please ensure that you’re not guilty of the same behavior.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
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I had a chat with my LEO son about this. He works the overnight shift. Once the clocks change in November he doesn’t work a minute on the road when it isn’t completely dark. The rest of the year at least 8 hours of his shift are in the dark. In his words, “I have no clue what race, or color a person is when I initiate a traffic stop. All the cars on the road with tinted windows makes it tough for the day shift guys too.”
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Interesting study published in a prestigious journal (PNAS). Wish the study had also controlled for the levels of respect drivers showed LEOs during the first 20–30 seconds of their interactions because respect is a two-way street and first impression matters.
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Well if your son has “no clue” then I guess we should disregard the millions of traffic stops examined in the Stanford study. 
It is not as if LEOs ever see the driver through the front window, when a car is passing, during daytime, at a light or intersection, when a driver gets into the auto, on a well lit street, etc. 
What gets me is the blind unwillingness to even acknowledge that people get pulled over for DWB. It isn’t an urban legend. It is well-documented behavior.
Have you noticed that, when its comes to the behavior of the police, it is always someone else’s fault? I’d like to see a study on that.
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I’ll take my LEO son’s opinion every time over a stranger on the internet that found a study that fits their narrative. He did more car stops last night than anyone here has in their lifetime.
Do DWB car stops happen? Of course they do. That doesn’t mean every stop you see posted on the internet is a DWB situation.
It’s interesting that everyone has a cop in their family, or knows a cop, but they never know the bad cops.
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Hasn’t this thread been about people who can conceive of bad cops, believe others who’ve had bad interactions with bad cops…and therefor tailor their decisions and choices of how to interact with cops understanding that one may not know if the specific cop is a “good one” or a “bad one”?
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The thread title isn’t Don’t Talk to the Bad Cops…
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I’m simply pointing out what I think is a significant limitation of the linked study. The study invited observers to assess the respectfulness of the LEOs, but did not have them assess the respectfulness of the drivers. None of the two parties operated in a vacuum, like all human interactions. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect a high-quality study to control for such a factor. In fact, I’d say it probably should have controlled for sex/gender, age, and even the vehicle type (which more or less reflects SES). Perhaps the journal reviewers missed these factors, perhaps they didn’t miss but the authors were able to explain that away, or perhaps there weren’t enough data to control for so many things, I don’t know. All I’m saying is the study left something to be desired.
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See second part of my sentence…
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Wasn’t there also a study showing that rates of black vs white drivers pulled over at night is more proportional than during the day? That is, the DWB factor is reduced at night when the cops can’t as easily see the driver as they pass by.
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Same data . . .
Black drivers get pulled over by police less at night when their race is obscured by ‘veil of darkness,’ Stanford study finds
After analyzing 95 million traffic stop records, filed by officers with 21 state patrol agencies and 35 municipal police forces from 2011 to 2018, researchers concluded that “police stops and search decisions suffer from persistent racial bias.”
The largest-ever study of alleged racial profiling during traffic stops has found that blacks, who are pulled over more frequently than whites by day, are much less likely to be stopped after sunset, when “a veil of darkness” masks their race.
. . .
The analysis left no doubt that the darker it got, the less likely it became that a black driver would be stopped. The reverse was true when the sky was lighter. Black drivers get pulled over by police less at night when their race is obscured by ‘veil of darkness,’ Stanford study finds.
Some will no doubt ignore the 93 million traffic stops and continue to base their opinions on the second-hand statement of single LEO working at night.
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It was 95 million traffic stops.
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And how is one to know who’s a bad cop at first encounter?
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Is it fair to expect a cop to be bad?
Yes.
The odds of a cop being bad (higher than zero) and the high risks if they are bad mean it is beyond reasonable to start any interaction expecting a bad cop.
Interesting in this conversation how negatively so many perceive the choice not to talk to LEO. Not talking to them doesn’t mean anyone has said, “Be disrespectful”, “Break the Law”, or anything else remotely like that.
People advocating for “Don’t talk to the Cops” have been advocating that people be aware of their rights…and why those rights are in place to protect citizens LEGALLY.
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This is a truly sad statement. It almost sounds Trumpian in tone. Replace “cop” with any URM.
The issue is, when you enter an interaction assuming the worst you may be more likely to come across as confrontational, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. Many times a person’s Google U law degree is an issue. When people start disregarding lawful orders from a law enforcement officer things can get complicated for the subject of the stop.
I’m all for the right to remain silent if it becomes apparent that you are the subject of a criminal investigation. Certainly everyone should remain silent after being Mirandized.
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@GKUnion you don’t think that the Department would inform patrol officers that a registration may come back with no name for certain officials? That should not set off an alarm bell if the driver informs the officer that she is an elected official.
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URM aren’t carrying weapons and legally allowed to use force, up to and including lethal force. They can’t imprison people. They can’t levy fines and tickets. Not at all analogous.
Also, no one said, Don’t talk to URMs.
That is your imagined outcome, not my lived experience. All of my interactions with LEOs have been polite and civil on my part. And I offer absolutely no unnecessary information. Again, not talking to cops does not at all indicate “disregarding lawful orders”.
Glad you are all for the “right to remain slight” sometimes. I am for that right all the time, no need to give cops any information that might assist their investigation to the point where you might become the ‘subject’. Better to keep your mouth shut from the get go, and hopefully never get to the point of being a subject.
Again, I will recommend everyone watch the video I linked to at the very top of this thread. Both the lawyer and the LEO in the video say repeatedly that the best course of action for citizens is to not talk to LEOs. It does NOT help, it can only hurt. To be fair, the LEO is also very upfront about how few people can stick to not talking.
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