Last night, my best friend (who I should add is the kindest, gentlest, most patient human being you will ever meet) was pulled over by a cop around midnight in an extremely secluded area. She is a young female. She was alone, with only her puppy in the car. She has been told, as have most of us young women, that she has the right to find a safe place to pull over. This is what she did. She also put on her emergency lights to indicate her intention to comply right before she found a partially lit spot. Now, if this were me, I would have immediately turned on my flashers and called 911 to inform them of the situation. However, she gets very nervous, very easily and does not always think of these things. When she was pulled over, she turned off her car, put her hands out the window, and was holding her keys. She told the officer why she didn't immediately pull over. Then, he proceeds to pull her out of the car, handcuff her, tell her he is putting her under arrest and call in two more officers-both male-as "back up". All three question her, she repeatedly tells all of them she is confused that she explained she did not feel safe as a vulnerable individual in the middle of the night on a dark, secluded road. The told her, "We are law enforcement, you can trust us". **SERIOUSLY** She explained why she couldn't trust anyone in the dark that she couldn't see. Then, they LAUGHED at her and told her, "You've been watching too many YouTube videos". Only one officer listened to her, the youngest of the three. after the search, when the three officers were surrounding her, she began to cry. She told them she was coming from her boyfriend's house who is in the military. At this point, they let her go. These are the two reasons she believes she was allowed to leave. She cried and had a boyfriend in he military. They told her they were letting her go with a warning, but would "document this in their files". ^This. This is what the vulnerable in our society have to deal with. No woman is ever safe from a strange man. Ever. Much less three of them. Three. Who laughed at her when she was afraid. Who mocked the video evidence of profiling and violence in our "justice" system. I will say this again: you DO NOT have my respect simply because of the job you have. Your title does NOT make you a good person. Yes, many male cops are documented and convicted rapists. Yes, many are wonderful, kind, loving people. No, I cannot trust you simply because of your job. You know that. You just don't care.
