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What Happened to the Whole Truth?







I’m so disturbed by this local news story that I almost don’t know where to begin.

Fatal crash follows an attempted traffic stop in Howard County, Sara Ruberg, Baltimore Banner

A minor died in a crash Saturday after fleeing from a Howard County Police officer in an unmarked vehicle who attempted to make a traffic stop, officials said.

I saw this posted on social media last night with less information. I wish I had kept a copy. It basically said  - - and I am paraphrasing here - - fatality after fleeing from an attempted traffic stop. And some folks responded with laughing faces. 

The Howard County Times posted it like this:

A driver is dead after fleeing an attempted traffic stop in the early hours of Saturday morning in Howard County.

This morning I looked at the two additional pieces of information:

  • Unmarked car
  • Driver was a minor

I just felt sick.

There is a huge difference between those two descriptions. They are both  “the truth” but only one is remotely close to “the whole truth.” 

Is it even legal for the police to pull you over while in an unmarked car? That seems preposterous to me. I looked it up. Google says it is legal in the state of Maryland if they use lights and sirens.

Here’s a creepy question for you: Is it possible for ordinary civilians to purchase and outfit their cars with lights and sirens? Yes, although there are strict rules about their use. 

Do we think that miscreants who desire to impersonate law enforcement officers will be deterred by those strict rules? 

Knowing that, if I had a minor child would I feel good about an unmarked car wanting to pull them over? 

No.

There are rules for this that make the driver more safe. 

1. Put on your hazard lights.
2. Drive to a well-lit area in a public place with plenty of people coming and going. 
3. Apparently you can also call 911 to tell them what is going on as you do all this, but how are you supposed to do that while driving? 

Did you know all this? If you have a minor child, do they know all this?

Now add one more element. Our country is now a place where non-whites are being disappeared off the streets on a daily basis. Even citizens. Even people carrying passports.

A minor child could be a generally responsible driver and still be triggered to flee under those circumstances. They are seeing photographic evidence of what can happen. No rhyme, no reason: violence, terror, injury and, in some cases, death.

The Howard County Police Department has announced that they will be investigating this. It’s a routine response to such occurrences. Do we think the investigation will result in meaningful change?

In a time like this, it is scary enough to be pulled over by a marked police car. Using unmarked cars for routine traffic stops feels unconscionable to me.









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  1. Julia A. McCreadyJanuary 18, 2026 at 4:56 AM

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