“Because I said so, that’s why.”
That is the creed of authoritarians and thugs in jackboots the world
over and that was basically what occurred in this traffic stop gone
terribly wrong.
A simple traffic violation ended up with an angry cop shattering a
terrified woman’s car window and forcing her to the pavement face down
simply because she only wanted to roll the window down half way. In true
“serve and protect fashion” the officer said to terrified woman, “If
you don’t open the window I”m going to break the window.”
The woman made no attempt to roll the window up on his fingers. She
didn’t wave around a weapon. She didn’t attempt to put the car into gear
and flee. She kept her hands in plain sight on the steering wheel
throughout the encounter (until, of course, she was cringing away from
the flying glass). She simply refused to open the window all the way, a
tactic that is often recommended to women alone when they are in a
situation with police that makes them feel uncomfortable. This
particular cop must have missed the PSA advising women to be cautious
because her attempt to politely maintain her safety apparently enraged
him.
When the woman calmly and reasonably asked why he insisted the window
be rolled down more than halfway, while steadfastly refusing to cave to
his raised voice and threats, the uniformed bully escalated, shattering
her window and sending glass all over her as she visibly cringed away
from him. She was then dragged from the car and placed face down on the
pavement before being cuffed.
When she asked why, the answer was simply, “You wouldn’t comply.”
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