On Friday night, Steve and I participated in a ride-along with Officer Brett Parson of the Metropolitan Police Department. (See cool pics here.) It was an opportunity we’d looked forward to for some time, and we were fortunate to have one of Washington, D.C.’s most talented and respected officers as our guide.
For better or worse, a Friday night in D.C. is never boring for the men and women of law-enforcement. We responded to a great variety of calls, some trivial or comical in nature, others extremely serious and frightening. Regardless of what comes in over the radio, you never know what you’re going to get until you arrive on the scene.
On a few occasions, an emergency call came through and we were treated to the horrifying experience of barreling through oncoming traffic at unbelievable speeds with the sirens blaring. I instinctively grabbed the door with one hand and the seat with the other, hanging on for dear life as pedestrians, buses, and other cars flew past in a blur. This alone was a strong testament to the stress police must endure on a nightly basis, as well as the training and special skills that officers must internalize in order to act decisively in emergency situations.
Of course, there’s an unofficial hierarchy of priorities which determine the haste with which each call is addressed. Generally, Officer Parson worked to “clear the board” which means he crossed into different zones and contacted the dispatch to offer his help following up on calls that hadn’t been responded to yet. Other nights of the week are less busy I’m sure, but I definitely got the impression that MPD officers spend much of their time just struggling to keep up with the calls that come in.
In this fast-paced climate, it’s easy to see how police can become hostile towards the constitutional rights of the citizens they encounter. Having encountered knife-wielding crazies and other dangerous folks, police often view the 4th Amendment as a nice idea that can’t realistically be followed all the time. We learned that many 4th Amendment violations are committed deliberately for the purpose of getting weapons off the street, and although no charges are filed, police feel that this conduct is necessary in order to protect the public. We disagree, of course, but it’s helpful to understand the rationales that underlie the police practices we oppose.
Officer Parson also demonstrated that he could legally stop almost any vehicle on the road by articulating the numerous traffic violations committed by passing motorists. He acknowledged that police commonly use these minor infractions as a pretext to investigate more serious crimes, but claims that police profiling usually relies on more subtle factors than race. He claims that his suspicions are usually correct, which I assume is how most officers justify making pretext stops.
These stops, like most invasive police practices, are legal if done carefully. While we certainly don’t condone pretextual policing, it’s important to recognize that officers will rarely if ever be reprimanded for doing this. In these situations, and many others, knowing your rights is absolutely the only protection there is. We can’t promise that it will work every time, but it might actually be easier than obeying all traffic laws.
In the course of our work, we’ve been exposed to countless horror stories about police encounters gone wrong. We always struggle to provide balanced information that emphasizes constitutional protections, while addressing the concerns of the public and respecting the hard work of law-enforcement. Overall, it was quite refreshing to witness the skill and heroism commonly associated with policing at its best.
I encourage all Flex Your Rights supporters to sign up for a ride-along with your police department. You’ll learn a lot, and you might make a friend that you’ll be glad to have. Let us know how it goes and please share any interesting observations with us.