Add This To The List: No Direct Eye Contact W/Police Officer

[orangeblossom]

Sigh.

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carfar



www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cop-pulls-over-black-man-making-eye-contact_55e0ad60e4b0b7a96338e614


Earlier this month, a police officer in Dayton, Ohio, tailed a man by the name of John Felton for two miles, then pulled him over for failing to use a turn signal 100 feet prior to making his turn. To be clear: Felton used a turn signal, but he apparently didn't put it on early enough.



Only after handing over a written warning did the officer acknowledge the real reason he'd pulled over Felton, a black man who was driving a car with out-of-state plates: He had "made direct eye contact" with the officer.



The Dayton Police Department confirmed the incident in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post on Friday, and acknowledged that "making direct eye contact with an officer" is not a legitimate reason to be stopped.



"The Dayton Police Department is a true partner in the community and enjoys a positive community-police relationship," the statement said. "The Dayton Police Department is in contact with Mr. Felton. He has agreed to a conversation with the officer, facilitated by the Dayton Mediation Center. This will allow Mr. Felton and the Officer to discuss the specifics of the incident."





Felton captured the absurd interaction on camera, then shared the video on Facebook page.



"This is why I hate coming to Dayton," he wrote in the caption. "He had no grounds for following/trailing me other than seeing an Infiniti with Michigan plates. His reason? 'I gave him direct eye contact while passing him.'"



Watch Felton's video, which contains adult language, below.





After a bit of back and forth, Felton tells the officer he's using his cell phone to record the conversation and insists he had used his turn signal.



"You did signal," the officer clarifies. "You just didn't do it 100 feet prior to your turn."



"You just needed a reason to pull me over, sir," Felton responds, handing over his license and registration. "Is there a reason you pulled me over other than that?"



"Jesus Christ, this is so childish," he adds, speaking to himself.



The officer walks away, then returns a short time later with a written warning for the infraction.



"No disrespect, I don't have anything against police officers," Felton tells the officer, "but all the shit that's going on now, that's some scary shit to have a police officer just trailing you. ... Why were you trailing me?"



"Because you made direct eye contact with me and held onto it while I was passing you," he replies. "If you want to keep talking about it, I'll just give you a citation for the violation and we can take it to court. I'm not going to argue about it anymore."



In an interview with Dayton TV station ABC 22/FOX 45, Felton, who lives in Detroit, said he felt targeted as soon as he saw the officer's car.



"I have a nice car, I don’t know if he’d seen me as a black male, but I feel like I was targeted. Being a Michigan car and it was about 11 at night," he said. "I’m not your stereotypical black male that a lot of people have in mind. It’s just awareness that this stuff still happens in 2015."

[borinquen57]

Really??! These assholes are so full of shit. I would think that with everything that's going on and how POs are seen as of late, they would try to "mend" relationships not act like blatant assholes because they can. 

[katfco]

What gets me is that there are so many people who are willfully ignorant about this. I have no doubt there will be people on my FB feed (if they bother to even comment on it), who joke that, being in Ohio, it was because of the Michigan plates, and totally ignore the overall implications. Anything to explain away what's staring them in the face.

[skwcm80]

Aug 29, 2015 15:12:47 GMT -5 @tooshort said:

::attempts to add this to the list::

I ran out of room on my paper. Can someone lend me another piece. ::sigh::

Right?!?

What we really need is for someone to let us know the appropriate amount of time to make eye contact, because there is no doubt that some police officer out there would take my lack of eye contact as some admission of guilt.

[chickadee77]

A. Fuck all of this.

B. That said, I try to avoid making direct eye contact with officers because I've heard too many horror stories of rape or assault. I try to make any interactions with law enforcement as short and impersonal as possible.

[cap]

How awful. I really can't believe that some people still insist racism isn't a problem anymore in the US.

[Deleted]

Obviously this is different because the cop is racist and an asshole dumb fuck.
But, in general isn't avoiding eye contact the sign of hiding something?

[barcelonagirl]

Not for nothing I'm starting to get a little paranoid every time I get a notification. Like damn shit is real and I see it every.damn.day.
Whoa. It is real.

[EnchantedSoul]

I'm in Ohio, not far from Dayton, and I admit that I am extra aware of using my turn signal now. It's effing terrifying. Can we just BE? Damn!

[tictac]

I feel like if he *didn't* make eye contact this would have blown up into "He avoided eye contact. OBVIOUSLY HE WAS UP TO NO GOOD!!!"

I fucking hate everything.

[sushi]

As a white woman I try to avoid eye contact with any drivers. This has gotten me a ticket before. But at least in not worried about being shot. Fucking a

[meshaliuknits]

Aug 29, 2015 21:37:54 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

OK, this is a side discussion but this bothers me: ""I’m not your stereotypical black male that a lot of people have in mind."

It also bothered me when the wine train ladies kept emphasizing that they were professionals.

It's some sly ass respectability politics shit and I don't like it. It's code for "I don't wear baggy pants/I'm not a welfare mom" which is a slick way of being elitist and saying, "I am not one of THOSE people." FUCK THAT SHIT. Not here for that. AT. ALL. Don't tag every other FB post and tweet with #blacklivesmatters then come out your face with this talented tenth nonsense.

I'm glad it wasn't just me.

[carfar]

So, this driving thing... My son doesn't reeaaally have to learn how, like ever, right? Because I think I may go into a permanent anxiety state about it when he's out there.

[summer]

You know what? Just make me a list of what Black people are supposed to do when they see a police officer in their vicinity. Then they don't have to just guess.

[sfy]

All that was missing from this was the officer calling him "boy."

Aug 30, 2015 1:44:32 GMT -5 carfar said:

So, this driving thing... My son doesn't reeaaally have to learn how, like ever, right? Because I think I may go into a permanent anxiety state about it when he's out there.

My son drives and drives through rural areas of Georgia. You have no idea.

[thejackpot]

I am so sick of this shit! Who can possibly keep up with what is appropriate? Big cities, little towns and everywhere in between racist,power hungry police officers are everywhere. They are putting such a blemish on their profession and making things difficult for their peers.

[threejs]

Sigh.

[downtoearth]

This is infuriating... don't make eye contact too long (or too short - avoidance can be shifty), don't use your turn signal too short or too long, don't second guess the police officer who wanted to just run your license b/c your Black and in an Infiniti. Take your warning and realize that whatever you do, you'll get pulled over again for being Black and in a car.