My Encounters with Police Officers in the United States

The first time I spoke with a police officer, I was 17.

I have had several encounters since then, including on Friday, August 22, 2014, which is the first time that an officer had drawn a gun on me.

This is a tally of those meetings.

I have left out two speeding tickets and a moving violation, as I was in the wrong, driving at speed higher than the posted limit.

I don’t violate the law. My background is here.

Oakland, 1985

Force | Oakland Police Department, Oakland, CA

Why | I had made a left turn through the intersection as the light was turning yellow.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 17

What happened | I was very nervous and fumbled through my glove compartment to find the car registration. The officer thought that I was acting unusually, so he asked me to get out of the car. He put me in handcuffs and put me in the back of his squad car while he searched my 1974 Red VW Dasher. He didn’t find anything, uncuffed me, and wrote a ticket for a moving violation.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | Yes.

Number of officers | 1.

Did I complain afterward? | No.

Oakland, Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, 1987

Force | Oakland Police Department, Oakland, CA

Why | I was waiting in the will-call line to pick up my tickets for a Public Enemy concert. I was going by myself.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 19

What happened | People were pushing and shoving in the ticket line because the concert had started before everyone was inside. OPD was trying to control the crowd. The officer near the will-call line raised his baton and told me to “get the f*** off of the steps.” I didn’t attend the concert.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 1. There were many others, but I only spoke with one.

Did I complain afterward? | No.

Berkeley, Strawberry Canyon, 1989

Force | Berkeley Police Department, Berkeley, CA

Why | Drinking in a public park’s parking lot.

Was I wrong? | Yes.

My age | 20

What happened | I was having beers with my high-school friends during our winter break in our junior year of college. I was underage and drinking in public. (2017 addendum: I went to prep school. Most of my classmates are not African-American. I have added this because some of you asked in the comments.)

The officers told us to not be stupid, pour the beer out, and find someone sober to drive us home.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 3.

Did I complain afterward? | No.

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Oct. 1993

Force | Englewood Cliffs Police Department, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Why | I called a cab to drive me into Manhattan. I can only guess that the dispatchers called the police afterward, as I have a deep voice that they may associate with African-Americans.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 26

What happened | I called a cab to go into Manhattan for Halloween. I was living in a five-bedroom house in a residential community outside of New York City.

The taxi dispatcher called the police and said that a man with a deep voice requested a cab or the local police monitor the taxi-dispatcher radio.

When the cab arrived, I came out of the front door, and there was a police officer across the street.

I had forgotten to turn on the alarm, so I went back into the house, turned on the alarm, and came back through the front door.

The police had gone into my backyard, expecting that I might try to escape my house(?), so they missed me going out of the front door.

They caught up with the taxi cab about a 1/2 mile away, pulled us over, and then searched my backpack. They asked for ID, gave me a warning about thieves, and then sent us on our way.

The taxi meter ran the entire time.

I asked the driver to take me to the police station so that I could file a complaint. The captain said they were just doing their job.

I walked home, and I didn’t go to Manhattan for Halloween.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 2.

Did I complain afterward? | Yes.

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, April 1994

Force | Englewood Cliffs Police Department, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Why | I was running to catch a bus from Englewood Cliffs into Manhattan.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 27

What happened | A police officer was parked in the parking lot of a Bally Fitness Center that I pass on my way to the bus stop. He saw me running by, and flashed his siren.

He asked for ID and asked me why I was running.

I told him I was trying to catch a bus that I had now missed.

He told me to be careful and released me after checking my ID.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 1.

Did I complain afterward? | Only to the arresting officer.

Fort Lee, New Jersey, June 1994

Force | Fort Lee Police Department, Fort Lee, NJ

Why | I was biking, wearing a suit, across the George Washington Bridge, from Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 27

What happened | I was in a car accident in January of that year. I was biking everywhere for exercise and for physical therapy to strengthen my quadricep muscles.

I was working at the New York Times, which required a suit, so I would sometimes bike in said suit(s) from Times Square, through Central Park, and then north before crossing on the George Washington Bridge.

When I came across the bridge, there was a parked police officer.

He followed me for 1/4 mile, then pulled me over in front of a motel on the north side of the George Washington Bridge Upper Deck landing into Fort Lee.

The officer asked me if I was the gentleman he had seen biking over to Washington Heights an hour earlier. I said “no.”

Some backstory: At that time, people bought a lot of drugs in Washington Heights. Forfeiture laws associated with drug arrests allowed the police to confiscate your car and other possessions if you were buying drugs, so I can only assume that thrifty New Jersey residents had taken to bikes to buy drugs to avoid vehicle forfeiture. I don’t know for sure.

He called for backup, and they arrived, along with an additional off-duty police officer who was simply driving onto the bridge and saw the commotion and pulled over.

I called my aunt, who lives in New York, as this was the third time I had been interacting with the police.

She spoke with the officer to ask him why they were detaining me, and he said that the area had a lot of drug activity, and that we were in front of a motel known for prostitution and drug activity.

They gave me back my ID and sent me on my way after 25 minutes.

Gun drawn? | No.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 11 including the off-duty cop. Five squad cars and one personally-owned police officer car (and my bike).

Did I complain afterward? | No.

Belmont, CA, 2011

Force | Belmont Police Department, Belmont, CA

Why | Out-of-state (Nevada) license plates on my rental car.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 43

What happened | I was early to meet a college friend at her family’s house. I arrived, parked, and saw an officer parked down the street, to the north of me. Because I was early, I got my laptop out of my trunk and went to sit down on her porch.

The officer drove by, due south, and saw me sitting on her porch, my legs on her lawn.

He parked south of my car and came toward the property, with his gun holster leather strap undone, and his hand on his gun.

My friend arrived at the same time as the officer came around her hedge. That is to say, she pulled into the driveway at the same time.

I turned my back to the officer to face her house.

She asked him what was going on. He replied that he wanted to know who I was. She replied that I was her friend. He asked her if she was the owner of the house. She replied yes.

He said that the Belmont Police Department had received several complaints about well-dressed solicitors with out-of-state license plates and laptops canvassing the neighborhood.

I kept my back turned to him during this conversation and asked my friend if we could enter her house three times.

The officer left.

Gun drawn? | No, but he kept his hand on it and when he came around the hedge, the restraining strap was off.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 1.

Did I complain afterward? | No.

San Francisco, in front of my house, Aug. 2014

Force | San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco

Why | Passenger in a vehicle without proper plates.

Was I wrong? | No.

My age | 46

What happened | I was taking an Uber from the airport to my house after an international flight. The driver was about to pass by the house, so I motioned for him to pull over. We were headed southbound on my street. At the same time, an officer was driving northbound on the street. What he saw: an SUV with three people who look like me (myself included), tinted windows, and temporary paper license plates that pulled over suddenly.

Since we were in front of my house, I got out of the car, and then I heard a police “tweet” on his siren. The officer had his gun drawn, pointed in the air, and told me to get back into the car.

I was getting out of the car to get my bags and go to my house.

He then called for three additional cars for backup, and kept his gun drawn until he walked up to the driver’s window.

I dug in my bag for a piece of physical mail that would have my street address on it, as I only had my passport on me. The other cars arrived as I was doing so.

One of the officers from the other car asked me to roll down my window. She said that she couldn’t see what I was doing. I told her that I was looking for a piece of mail with my street address on it.

She said that she wanted to prevent any dead cops.

Ten minutes later, I was allowed to leave the car and enter the house. The female officer said that I was the victim of an unlicensed taxi service.

I didn’t speak to her or the other officers and entered my house.

Gun drawn? | Yes.

Handcuffs? | No.

Number of officers | 7.

Did I complain afterward? | Not yet.

Total tally