Have You Ever Been Profiled?

[Jack Flash]

Preamble:
Please don't get this thread shut down with a bunch of political comments. Just relate personal anecdotes without editorializing!

When I was a young man, I stopped in visit my parents down on the farm one weekend. My younger brother was still living with them and had an old car which I helped him get sorted out, so he wanted to go for a test drive through the country roads. It was Saturday night, so why not? We drove along in the cool evening air having a great time. As we passed through one small town, a couple of local police officers pulled us over.

We were driving under the limit and obeying all laws. We both did have longish hair and looked like a couple of teenagers. (When I was in my early twenties, everyone thought that I was twelve. Even now people can't believe how old I am.)

They checked out our IDs (no doubt making a note of our names / addresses). We were brought up to comply with law so we were respectful even if we thought this was not necessary. It was all smiles and the cops even made some jokes with us, then we were on our way.

At the time I thought that they no doubt checked "suspicious / hooligan looking" youths in case something came up missing / broken into / whatever. That's their job. So we really didn't see any need to feel victimized. We just went on our way and had a good time.

I could tell a dozen other stories like this. My attitude was essentially that the police are just doing their jobs. Yes, it may be slightly inconvenient for me, but there were bad guys roving around looking for B&E opportunities, and the police needed to stay on top of that. After all, Mom and Dad's place could be targeted. Although that may have been a poor idea anyway, considering that Dad believed in the "Dog and Shotgun" approach to security.

 

[SC_Mike]

Just a couple of times way back when. Of course it wasn't called profiling back then it was called something like "checking out suspisious characters".

We wernt doin nuthin ocifer...

 

[30-30remchester]

It troubles me that the police pulled you over and ID'ed you for no reason. Here in Colorado the police can not pull you over unless some law has been violated. They also can not require ID from the cars passengers. Yes I have been pulled over a few times because of profiling. Since I drive a pickup truck with a construction companies name on the door, and since it is Friday evening then I must have been at a bar and must be drunk. I was pulled over because in the 32 miles the officer followed me, I had apparently touched the white line on the side of the road while going through the narrows. At least that is what he said was the reason he pulled me over. I rolled down the window as he approached and he stuck his head in my window and inhaled. No booze smell so he bid me farewell. I have also been pulled over 2 other times late at night and been accused of swerving inside my lane. Again no booze smell so goodbye was all they said. I asked one officer if he had a video camera on the dash and was recording. He replied yes, so I requested to see the tape of me swerving. Sorry not for public viewing. I am not anti police as both my daughter and son-in-law were both officers. But I do believe the police must act responsibly and within the letter of the law.

 

[SweetMK]

I have to drive 8.5 miles to the closest grocery store,,,
14 miles to the nearest Walmart.,,,

5% of the times that I go to, or return from shopping, a deputy will be behind me for a mile or more.

I figure each of those occurrences, I am being profiled.

Parked at a light, we have seen the officer typing in the plate #,,
surely that is what he is doing.

I am OK with it,, we have a safe neighborhood!!

 

[Muss Muggins]

The title of this thread immediately made me think of Ron White's "I Got Thrown out of Bar in New York City . . ." I'd post a link, but it's NSFSWF (Not Safe for S&W Forum).

I got stopped once for driving a red Dodge Durango with a trailer hitch. For those who have never done it, you have no idea how many white vans with cracked windshields there are until you start trying to find one. It seems there's one on every corner. Any way, the nice fella's with guns and badges were trying to find a red Durango with a trailer hitch that had been involved in nefarious activity. Fifteen seconds later I'm on my way, watching the driver of another red Durango headed the other way talking to my guy's associates.

 

[blues7]

Growing up in NYC I've had several encounters with the police during my formative years...most innocuous, a few somewhat more tense.

Once, as a teen during the middle to late 60's I happened to be standing on a street corner talking with a friend near the candy store when a patrolman told us to move along. I answered him back that I lived in the neighborhood and was just talking with a friend. That earned me a crosscheck across the chest with his baton landing me in the street where I nearly got hit by a car. I almost rushed him when I got up but fortunately I realized in time that that would be a no win situation for me.

A few times during the 70's my friends and I were unceremoniously forced to the curb by unmarked anti-crime / narcotics units who proceeded to search the vehicle (without permission) for drugs. When I complained to a nearby uniform that they never even identified themselves to us or asked permission, he simply said that "cops know their own" and left it at that without getting involved. (Needless to say the search turned up empty or I'd not have had a career in law enforcement.)

Those were very stressful encounters and left me seething and shaking. It's because of encounters like that that I can sympathize with those who complain of "driving while black".

I've also had some officers show restraint when my wiseass mouth might have gotten me into trouble. So the score probably evened out over the years.

Finally, I will say that a NYPD detective in the 67th Precinct in Brooklyn was responsible for giving me the idea to begin seeking a career in law enforcement.

I had a girlfriend who had been mugged and beaten badly and while we were in a squad room looking through mug books to try to identify the perpetrator, a detective spotted that I was taking down information about one or two of the suspects while he was out of the room.

When I was ready to leave, the detective braced me and asked what I planned on doing. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. He asked what I planned to do with the information I had copied and then retrieved it from me.

He then said that if I felt that strongly about it that rather than end up going to jail for maybe going after the wrong guys, that maybe I should consider joining the police. It was as if a light went on in my head. I had never really given it thought at the time but was unsatisfied with the work I was doing and thus welcomed the idea.

So, I took the exam, got called but my uncle, who was a cop in the Coney Island precinct told me to try to get on with the feds instead which is what I ultimately ended up doing.

And that's a small glimpse into my interactions with the police as a youth.

(Fortunately for me the stupid things I had actually done as a youth or young man never came back to haunt me and for that I am forever grateful.)

 

[eveled]

I've had similar experiences to those listed above. It taught me three things,

never drink and drive, you never know when you will be stopped for no reason.

Always be polite, attitude never helps.

Use profiling to your advantage. Lower all the flags that make you "suspicious".

 

[Art Doc]

Getting off a plane at LAX from London I was put through extra search protocol because I was wearing a hat with a brim.

 

[star1]

way back when ..... in the 60's we could not drive our motorcycles anywhere around here without getting stopped by the local police , not doing anything wrong....they would check drivers license, registration and s/n of bike ...it was rather irritating ...they even stopped me on our Vespa for Pete's sake

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

When I was working I had to go into a few border towns in Mexico and every time I was set aside for further checks of paperwork, questions, etc. I always wondered if my red hair and freckles had anything to do with that....

 

[NYlakesider]

A few times. As a big, sort of long hair, large beard I used to look like a outlaw biker. Double that driving back and forth to a job in a new 4x4 PU truck. This was back in the era before the LEOs had all that electronic stuff to give them your life history before they pulled you over. My identification and deportment made it a "no problem" stop/s

 

[Donna K]

It happened to me once. I musta been twenty-two at the time, and two officers pulled me over on my Honda Interstate. They said they thought I was a child who'd stolen my dad's motorcycle to take for a joy-ride. When I pulled my helmet off and spoke with them they laughed and apologized and I was on my way. So yeah, I got profiled as a child!

 

[Old TexMex]

Profile me! Please. I get it. As a person who travels internationally, I have been taken aside and given special attention numerous times, by security at foreign airports. I show my ID and go on. They're doing their job.

More than once, US ICE agents have said "Welcome back to the US, sir."

 

[blues7]

Profile me! Please. I get it. As a person who travels internationally, I have been taken aside and given special attention numerous times, by security at foreign airports. I show my ID and go on. They're doing their job.

More than once, US ICE agents have said "Welcome back to the US, sir."

Funny story about the opposite...

In 2002 I was coming back from London where I had been working a case with the assistance of Scotland Yard (Metropolitan Police) and H.M. Customs & Excise.

My partner and I were escorted to the gate by "the Met" detectives who made the boarding crew aware of our identities and official passports. (I'd worked with these guys on their own case in the U.S. previously and we had developed a strong friendship beyond the work.)

As we prepared to board the plane we watched several middle eastern folks board before us without the most rudimentary check. However, when it came our turn, we had to remove shoes, belts and empty pockets and carry-on bags.

I was dumbfounded, to say the least as we were there investigating a violation of U.S. Defense Trade Control laws. (Thinking it was a prank by the guys from the Met we looked for evidence of such but never found any and nobody ever copped to it.)

Someone either just hated Yanks or it was political correctness and non-profiling at its extreme.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I must be living a charmed life.
Never had anything like what you guys posted happen to me.....

 

[Boudiepitbull]

As a long haired teenager growing up in an affluent suburban New Jersey community, my friends and I experienced a period of time in the early 70s when we could pretty much expect to be stopped and searched on sight by a few (but not all) of the officers on our local force. There was virtually no threat of violent crime or burglaries in our town, so most police work was fishing expeditions. Clothes gone thru, bags searched, cars searched, cameras opened and film exposed (we might have had LSD taped to the back of the film so they had to check both sides in the sunlight...that's really what they told us!). Clearly this had devolved over time into punitive behavior with no consideration for proper stop/search/seizure protocol. I bore a vague resemblance to kid from the next town who was a known small time drug dealer, so I also spent a lot of time trying to prove I was not D.J. Coletti when some officers were convinced that I was.
The end result of all of this was twofold, we got really skilled at hiding things, and to this day I still have a sense of apprehension when I have to deal with the police in a situation I did not initiate.

 

[Old TexMex]

Funny story about the opposite...

In 2002 I was coming back from London where I had been working a case with the assistance of Scotland Yard (Metropolitan Police) and H.M. Customs & Excise.

My partner and I were escorted to the gate by "the Met" detectives who made the boarding crew aware of our identities and official passports. (I'd worked with these guys on their own case in the U.S. previously and we had developed a strong friendship beyond the work.)

As we prepared to board the plane we watched several middle eastern folks board before us without the most rudimentary check. However, when it came our turn, we had to remove shoes, belts and empty pockets and carry-on bags.

I was dumbfounded, to say the least as we were there investigating a violation of U.S. Defense Trade Control laws. (Thinking it was a prank by the guys from the Met we looked for evidence of such but never found any and nobody ever copped to it.)

Someone either just hated Yanks or it was political correctness and non-profiling at its extreme.

I'd like to think it was, as Jerry Jeff Walker said "the English sense of humor is drier than Texas sand" but I rekon it was the other reason...

 

[H Richard]

Yes, just after 9-11 we were flying to Seattle. On the way home going through security I was tapped out and interviewed, and they looked at every card and picture in my wallet and asked just what they were, who they were. (I had membership cards from 4 different shooting clubs & SWCA). I have a beard evidently was the only reason. Very pleasant, but very professional.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I was "profiled" by local police several times from the sixties to the eighties, and cut some slack because I was in the military. I was guilty in each case, and never protested the apparently differential treatment. Who knows? Maybe they did the same for everyone who said "Yes, sir" and "No, sir."

 

[dougb1946]

Try the Lutefisk dinner at the local Norwegian Luthern church, and order it with cream sauce . You will be profiled.