What do you guys make of this...

(Let me preface this story by saying that I live in a city in Michigan that has the largest Arabic speaking population outsite of the middle east. You may have seen or read stories in the news about people from here being connected to terrorist groups.)

Last night I was dropping off a friend after seeing "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (which is fabulous...highly recommended) and we were sitting in my car in front of his apartment building. The car was running and the lights were on and we were talking briefly and saying our goodbyes...well, about a minute or so later two police cars pulled up behind mine and one flashed its lights and sounded its horn. Two very WASP-y looking officers came out and stopped at my car...one on either side. The one on my side asked for my license and the other was saying something about it being state law that a person should have his/her ID readily available whenever an officer asks for it. I was having trouble finding license and was telling the officer that I was just dropping off my friend...the officer then said that I had looked my wallet four times and asked me "When was the last time you were arrested?" (I've never been arrested and have no traffic tickets on my record) Well, I then remembered that I left my license on my dining room table and told him that I didn't have it, but I gave him my registration and proof of car insurance.
Meanwhile...the other officer was saying "One more arrest and we can get overtime" and "I'll lock her up" and "Call a tow truck"
I was scared to death and started to cry. The officer on my side of the car went back to his car and brought me a $60 parking ticket and said that he could have given me a ticket for no license and that would have been a misdemeanor.
So, when I went back home I told my boyfriend what happened and we called the police station and reported these bullies. The shift supervisor agreed that they shouldn't have treated me that way and shouldn't have given me a ticket at all. They are going to be reprimanded
So, this morning I talked to my friend whose brother is a higher up in another city's PD and she said that because I look middle eastern (see my profile pic...my mother is Italian and father is Hungarian) that I could have been a victim of racial profiling and that they gave me a ticket to validate why they stopped me and gave me such a hard time.
She said that the FBI is sending out warnings to all PDs in the US to stop people from parking in front of buildings, etc because of possible terrorist activity.
What do you think...racial profiling or just asshole cops?
[This message was edited Thu Oct 24 7:48:41 PDT 2002 by applekisses]

You don't look Middle Eastern to me...

P.S. You're a "woman" not a "white girl"!

ItalianToy said:

thanks for paying so much attention to the subject matter...I edited as a tribute to my journey through puberty...
[This message was edited Thu Oct 24 7:49:16 PDT 2002 by applekisses]

ItalianToy said:

Well, if you're Italian you probably see those features in me...I actually get asked quite a bit if I'm middle eastern or Greek.

.....
[This message was edited Thu Oct 24 8:31:35 PDT 2002 by SkletonKee]

,,,

I would consider them asshole cops. I had a terrible experience with a male police officer in the past and he is no longer a cop anymore for the shit he pulled on me and, come to find out, others.

It is sad that those who here to protect us take the power they think they posess a little too far. There was no need for the way you were treated and it was a good thing that you called and reported them.

i'd say there is a chance that this was profiling, but sounds more like they were just some asshole cops...

Sorry you had to go through that! It's good that you reported it, I do hope they are reprimanded...

There's good cops, such as the ones that hunted down and caught the snipers.

And there are bad cops, as you've obviously encountered.

Either way, they're human just like the rest of us.

I'm sorry for what happened to you. It's one thing for them to be protecting their community and another when they obviously have too much time on their hands that they can harass innocent people like yourself.

I had a similar incident last year in Cleveland. I was walking around downtown taking pictures. A certain hotel there had a giant painting on the ceiling (which looked like Frank Stella possibly). Anyhow I decided to walk up to the window and take a picture of it through the glass. A security guard came running out and began questioning me. Then he retracted and said everything was ok, explaining that they were told to keep an eye out for people of Arabic descent taking pictures of their building (which is one of the most retarded excuses I've heard in a long time). He then went on to joke that if I had an accent, THEN he would be worried. I am Irish/Italian, and very pale skinned. I don't look the least bit Arabic, so it makes me wonder if these people ever have to take eye examinations for their jobs.

Thanks for all of the support guys. I really appreciate it.
I ended up talking with my friend's brother -- the lieutenant in another city's PD -- and he said that he is almost positive that it was a racially motivated thing. He said that he can't say for sure because the officers were not "his guys" but, the tip off for him was the two cop cars with one cop in each car. He also told me that the report I made on the officers will stay in their files for a few years. So, if they go in for performance reviews they may not get raises/promotions.
This whole thing is pretty shocking to me because I really don't think I look middle eastern. But, just like what Tom experienced in Cleveland -- it's starting to look as though anyone who has dark hair/eyes and looks the least bit "ethnic" "non-white" or "Mediterranian" is going to get a second look or maybe even some hastle these days.
At any rate, at least I've gotten to experience a fraction of the feeling (not that the scale of this situation can compare with what some people have had happen to them) that some minorities in this country feel when they are racially profiled by the cops. It's really opened my eyes and heart more. In my opinion, you can't really know something until you feel it.
[This message was edited Thu Oct 24 20:59:32 PDT 2002 by applekisses]

AzureStar said:

Thanks, hon. I'm happy that I reported them too. Hopefully they won't pull that macho crap on anyone else.
Also, I'm glad to know that guy won't be bothering you anymore and that he is suffering for anything horrible he did to you and other people.
Police harrassment is really one of the most oppressive things because the cops have access to information about people that ordinary citizens don't have. My friend's brother was telling me that some cops in his department would pull over women they thought were "cute" and then ticket them if they saw a wedding ring on their hands. When he found out about it he threatened to fire them if they did it again. And this is just one example of the crap that goes on in police departments around the country.

Tom said:

Hey Tom...it might be a good idea for you to stick around Little Italy in Murray Hill (my bf is originally from Cleveland) at least that way you'd see some friendly faces and get fed well! Those stunads...stay away from the cops, man! (Until they get their new glasses)

From the title i thought you were being profiled because you were white.

What a couple of tools, i think they were just being jerks! Who knows...these days.

I don't know if you were being profiled, but unfortunately the percentage of asshole cops seems to be the same proportion of asshole civilians to non-asshole civilians. I'm glad you reported them.