Young men,
In my 34 years of driving I have been stopped by police exactly 5 times. The last time I was stopped by the police was 11 years ago for speeding, by a VA state trooper (a ratchet hardass one). No ticket. The time before that was 15 years ago because I was maybe doing 125 in a 55 zone. I didn’t go to jail or even get a ticket.
How did I get out of it? Gift of gab? Legal matrix jujitsu?
No, I shut the fuck up
When you get stopped by the police there is no reason to talk to them. None. However, if you don’t first claim and reserve your rights you’re in for a hard day at the rock pile.
The first thing you should do when approached by the officer is say “under the advice of counsel I reserve my 6th amendment protections and do not consent to any search or seizure. Also, under the advice of counsel, I reserve my fifth amendment protections and will not be answering any questions. Then SHUT-THE-FUCK-UP.
If they ask you to do anything else other than show your license/ID then you respond ...
I’m a Gen X Black kid from the suburbs. I grew up on the Cosby Show, and was privileged to grow up in a place where Black doctors, Black professionals, and Black families were a real tangible thing—a normal thing.
It was just a TV show, but for some it was real, for some it was the ideal, and some couldn’t even imagine it.
Rest in peace MJW.
