Perotessa Detweiler's Writing Pad (kinda)

I don't know if this really counts or not…but it's troubling to me.
Okay I live in CA (SF) and uhm…there have been some "interesting" things going on since the spring of 2008 but I didn't say anything because I thought it was a one off. But uhm things have happened within the last two weeks that make me think maybe it wasn't.

Okay let's go back in time…
The place I live is an apartment complex owned by a University. (and if you're in SF you probably can figure out where I live with that little clue :P)
Anyways since it is University owned the school has their campus police canvas the area for security reasons. Which is good because there have been a rash of car break ins. (A teacher who lives at the complex got his car broken into 4 time…it's pretty bad)
So the campus cops drive around the front of the apartments and the back around the car ports.

So one night a campus cop sees these two guys and I don't know what he though but my roommate went out to potty her dog…and I was watching her through the window, which was open, and I hear: "Get your hands up!" and "Lay on your stomach! Put your hands where I can see them!"
Well that got my attention and I can see from my window barely because of trees and bushes and things two guys and a cop.
Now one of the guys is speaking loudly in English: "He's my brother! He speaks Spanish!"
The cop is speaking forcefully in English, this guy is protesting in English and the guy who is now on his knees speaking a mile a minute is speaking Spanish.

I've never been in a situation where a cop tells me to put my hands up and lay on my stomach so I have no clue what goes through your mind…but I think compliance would be first and foremost. If it's true and this guy did not speak English and therefore didn't understand the instructions what happens next truly worries and troubles me. Because it was so stupid and preventable on both persons parts.

So the guy who speaks Spanish isn't getting on his stomach. Campus Cop is getting edgey and louder and I think frustrated.
The "brother" isn't helping by now yelling that the Spanish speaker is his brother and that he speaks Spanish.
Spanish guy is now on his knees with his hands in the air I think trying to explain himself in Spanish (I don't speak Spanish and even if I did he was speaking so softly I couldn't understand what he was saying)
Campus Cop TAZERS the Spanish speaker. He goes down in a twitching smoking pile.
His Brother yelps: "OH MY GOD! NO NO Please Stop."

By this time FOUR MORE Campus Cops have shown up AND Two City cops AND Three Fire trucks and an ambulance.
The Campus cops ride around in pairs…so we have 12 campus cops, maybe 3 city cops, a long fire truck with the swing ladder (you know the guy drives in the back?) and two short fire trucks.

Now my question is: 1) Why didn't the "Brother" try to explain to the Spanish speaker IN SPANISH What the cop wanted?
And 2) Why didn't the Cop try to get one of his comrades to help TRANSLATE?
Did Spanish Speaker really need to be Tazered?

The "Brother" once Spanish speaker went down jumped to his feet and edged off to a car to get something out of the glove box. While the cops all converge on Spanish speaker who is now moaning loudly and rolling around on the ground in extreme pain.

The conclusion to all this is that the cops and the ambulance people are then "arguing" over who takes the guy in?
Do the ambulance people take him to the hospital and get him treated? Or do the cops take him because his wounds aren't that bad?

Then late in the Spring semester there was a situation where two campus cops stopped a driver of a Cadillac and told him to get out of his car. In fact they blocked him in.
I dunno what he did…but what caught my attention was that he was African American.

And then in the Summer there was another traffic stop of an SUV which was driven by an African American and they had everyone get out of the car and had them "wait" on the sidewalk while they…did whatever they were doing or searching for.

There was a "domestic dispute" just downstairs where maybe 6 to 8 campus cops showed up. That little incident is in my other blog…
The couple who were "fighting" were African American

Sunday the campus cops stopped another SUV with one guy and his girlfriend/wife in it at around 9 am in the morning. The guy was African American and before you know it he was told to get out of his car, they handcuffed him and had him sitting in the cruiser.

And then last night…a cop and I think this one was City cop not campus…boxed in a truck which doesn't belong here. I think the guy was either visiting or dropping something off. Anyways the cops were here for almost two hours! Voices carry - the guy had no license so they impounded his car. A tow truck shows up…they slap cuffs on the guy and put him in the cruiser and tow his truck.
The guy was Hispanic.

Okay, I am SURE that it's not as bad as these few examples….but maybe it is….I don't know.
I am not African American, and I am not a guy but I am brown. It worries me. I don't want to say that they ARE Racially Profiling but they might be.
And who would I tell? It's a complaint, think. Stop picking on people of color! Although I don't know the circumstances of why they are stopping people and pulling them out of cars.
I am frustrated because I think I should say something but I don't know who to say something to. How to say it, and I think the thing is I don't want to get into trouble.
I don't want someone to pat me on the head and say: Don't worry about it…it's for your safety.
And I don't want to get all combative in your face about it. Maybe there's a situation or larger picture I am not seeing. But what I am seeing makes me jittery and nervous and very uncomfortable and I don't know what to do or what to say or who to say it to.

Okay! I feel a little better…I just have to vent sometimes I think.

DFTBA