Was I Profiled?
Last night, I joined DrT and one of her friends at the Dave Matthews Band concert in Hartford. Although I do like Dave's music that has been played on the radio over the years, I am not very familiar with most of his music. Despite that, I still enjoyed the concert, with the exception of the large amount of pot smoking around us.
Needless to say, the concert was packed. It took me nearly an hour after the concert just to get out of the parking lot. Once I finally made it out, I was directed by police to the carpool lane on I-91N. Since I could not make it to I-291 from the I-91 carpool lane, I exited at CT-218 in Bloomfield with the intention of driving over to the I-291 entrance from that exit.
Right after turning on to CT-218, I noticed a cop car sitting in a nearby parking lot. No need for me to worry. I was driving 5mph under the speed limit and completely sober. It was 12:30AM, so there could be a million reasons why a cop was stationed there.
To my surprise, the cop decided to pull me over. Yes. Me. I really could not figure out why, but I figured that I had nothing to fear. The cop informed me that the lights that illuminate my license plate are not functioning properly. What? Shouldn't the cop be looking for speeders or drunk drivers? How could she have possibly noticed a broken license plate light? And what kind of stupid law is that? I have no way of knowing whether that light is out unless a cop pulls me over to tell me. No one else pays attention to such a minor and stupid detail.
She then proceeded to ask me a bunch of unrelated questions about my evening. Where was I coming from? Had I been drinking? Why was I in Bloomfield if I was coming from a concert in Hartford and returning home to Manchester? And so on...
She then proceeded to take my ID and insurance/registration with her. She came back one minute later and let me go with a verbal warning.
Was she profiling me? I cannot figure out the real reason why I was pulled over. Was it because I was a 20-something male driving after midnight? Strange. At least I didn't get a ticket or get arrested, so nothing bad really happened.
Needless to say, the concert was packed. It took me nearly an hour after the concert just to get out of the parking lot. Once I finally made it out, I was directed by police to the carpool lane on I-91N. Since I could not make it to I-291 from the I-91 carpool lane, I exited at CT-218 in Bloomfield with the intention of driving over to the I-291 entrance from that exit.
Right after turning on to CT-218, I noticed a cop car sitting in a nearby parking lot. No need for me to worry. I was driving 5mph under the speed limit and completely sober. It was 12:30AM, so there could be a million reasons why a cop was stationed there.
To my surprise, the cop decided to pull me over. Yes. Me. I really could not figure out why, but I figured that I had nothing to fear. The cop informed me that the lights that illuminate my license plate are not functioning properly. What? Shouldn't the cop be looking for speeders or drunk drivers? How could she have possibly noticed a broken license plate light? And what kind of stupid law is that? I have no way of knowing whether that light is out unless a cop pulls me over to tell me. No one else pays attention to such a minor and stupid detail.
She then proceeded to ask me a bunch of unrelated questions about my evening. Where was I coming from? Had I been drinking? Why was I in Bloomfield if I was coming from a concert in Hartford and returning home to Manchester? And so on...
She then proceeded to take my ID and insurance/registration with her. She came back one minute later and let me go with a verbal warning.
Was she profiling me? I cannot figure out the real reason why I was pulled over. Was it because I was a 20-something male driving after midnight? Strange. At least I didn't get a ticket or get arrested, so nothing bad really happened.
posted by GaryGinew at 8:46 PM
1 Comments:
In defense of the policewoman, if she doesn't pull you over to tell you that the light is out, how will you know if it is? And if you *were* a bad guy, having an unlit license plate would certainly give you an advantage in running from the cops.
That being said, she should have pulled you over, told you to fix it, and (if required, like with broken headlights) told you to show the department it was fixed within a month or so. Then she should have let you go. I can't imagine any person, police or no, who would think you a suspicious person, Ginew. . . maybe you were acting defensive? Who knows. Maybe she just expected attitude, since many young men aren't known for their cooperation with the law (and maybe that she's female and you're male played into it as well).
Post a Comment
<< Home