BLACK IN AMERICA: COPS IN THE HOOD
By Keith L. Forest

Back in early 2000, a young woman on her way home from work was killed in my neighborhood of Prospect Heights Brooklyn. That woman was white.

Since the crime was committed along a route I traveled daily to and from work, without any hesitation or much thought, and regardless of the fact that this path shaved 10 minutes off of my commute, the next day I immediately changed my route.

Why?

Cause I am an African American male and at that time I was living in an area that was in its final stages of gentrification. The constant and consistent arrival of our new-found neighbors may have improved the police presence. However; it forced longtime residents like me into a minority category which automatically made me a suspect for the detectives infiltrating the neighborhood in an attempt to solve the case.

As racial profiling begins to once again take center stage in mainstream media as a result of Dr. Louis Henry Gates, Jr. recent run-in with Cambridge, MA police, I am reminded of the above mentioned scenario and unfortunately countless other unbalanced stories that hard working, law abiding African American men like myself unfortunately are subjected to daily.

There is the story a co-worker shared with me of how he and his son were pulled over while traveling through Florida. Although he broke no law, did nothing illegal, and by all accounts is a law abiding citizen, he felt this immense, overwhelming sense of fear.

He feared not knowing what his physical appearance (he is 6ft 3) would trigger inside the cop and how a jerked motion or spontaneous move could warrant a life or death scenario for not only him but also his son.

This is a fear unfortunately; countless African American men live with daily. It is a fear of being pulled over by a state trooper because our hard work and determination permitted us to award ourselves with a luxury automobile. A fear of being picked up for questioning because a crime took place in our transformed neighborhood. Or a fear of being brought in for questioning because a disgruntled white house wife fabricated a fantasy of being abducted, kidnapped or mugged by a “black man.”

These tales from the hood and justified fears unfortunately happen daily and are shared in countless neighborhoods throughout our nation. They are topics of discussion that are heavily debated inside barbershops and lounges frequented by brothers. The same comfort zones Henry Louis Gates, Jr. spoke of having his site “theroot.com” emulate. However, what is also talked about and strategized over weekly shaves and trims are the rules of engagement.

We are all aware that a double standard exists. The news self-consciously reminds us every day the price one could pay for not knowing. A lesson that a 32 year old off duty New York City police officer Omar Edwards unfortunately may have momentarily forgotten when he chased a “lighter-hue” criminal he caught vandalizing his car. It may have also slipped Oscar Grant’s mind when Bay Area Transit Cop ejected him from a train and though handcuffed and defenseless, shot him in the back of the head.

These rules and code-of-conduct of existing-in-America-while-being-black-and-male came in handy for me when an over-zealous rooky-cop charged up my front steps one morning after my ghettoized, solvent tenant called demanding I be arrested for cleaning my front stoop.

Realizing what I had at stake – a home, a job, a respected name in my community, how I would be viewed – as another black man, and who lodged the complaint - a loud, boisterous, dramatic, low-life with nothing to lose - I had to be practical. Yes I had a right to clean my front stoop. However, the fact that I had a pending Landlord Tenant Court case could be an issue.

So when the 5 foot 5 armed white, police officer from the 81st precinct confronted me by heralding insults and degrading, curse words demanded I step out my house, I ignored him. When he requested that I show him some ID, I gave him my license.

After running my name through central booking and discovering that I was in fact a law abiding citizen, in his effort to be cast as the “hero” before the growing crowd of spectators anxious to catch the latest episode starring the neighborhood-drama queen (my former tenant), the officer issued me a ticket. After totally humiliating and embarrassing me in front of my neighbors, I took the ticket and closed the front door.

I then consulted a friend that works at the District Attorney’s office. Although it would call for taking yet another day off from work, I took their advice and challenged the ticket’s legitimacy in court where it was thrown out.

To further right this humiliating wrong, I filed a complaint with New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. An associate contacted me to make arrangements for an intervention to take place between me and the officer. However, the meeting would be based on the officer’s cooperation and availability and would be mediated by 2 civilian volunteers.

At the meeting, I was given the opportunity to express my concerns and challenge the cop on his choice of words and the lack of respect he showed me.

The Officer of course denied any wrong doing and use of profanity. He resented being labeled a racist, which I never called him, and wanted an opportunity to clear his name. However, when cross examined by the mediators, he did admit that he “may have” used inappropriate language and apologized for being “unruly”.

Sounds like a happy ending. However, it isn’t.

Long before this scenario with Dr. Louis Gates, Jr. played out in a tony Cambridge, MA neighborhood and unfortunately after it has finally died down, there will still be rouge cops patrolling urban neighborhoods. These police officers, many from outside our communities, will sadly use their badge as a legal right to intimidate and harass our brothers, fathers, sons and uncles forcing men of color to raise up yet another generation to be cautious of existing while being black and male.

Keith L. Forest is a freelance publicist, writer and proud Bedford-Stuyvesant home owner who lives and works in the beloved community. His current blog space mybedstuy.blogspot.com seeks to celebrate the people and places that make up this great community while addressing issues such as gentrification, predatory lending and other ill norms that seek to exploit, discredit and harm the area and its people.