Skip to main content

Doubt


This morning I turn your attention to a news item in the Columbia Flier/ Howard County Times:

State trooper fatally shoots driver in Elkridge after traffic stop  , Hallie Miller, Stephanie García, Phillip Jackson

I’ve been concerned about this incident since I saw information unfold on Twitter last Friday morning. How did a traffic stop for DWI become a death sentence for the driver? Will body camera footage make any sense of this? Will the state police release the footage?

The article covers the multiple facets of this story, raising good questions. Was the state trooper’s handling of the situation influenced by the fact that the driver was Hispanic? Is it standard procedure to reach into the car to remove keys? 

Something the article raises that I hadn’t considered:


Wondering if everyone in a uniform is working for immigration has got to be a frightening state of existence. Even members of the Latino community who are here legally are fearful, because the record shows that ICE has been arbitrary in how they enact their mission. It is dangerous merely to look Hispanic.

On the other hand:

Driving while impaired by alcohol is a serious issue. I don’t dispute that. It is every bit as dangerous as wandering about intoxicated while holding a loaded weapon. The instinct to get the keys away from the driver is understandable. Drunk drivers don’t endanger only themselves, but every one else on the road with them. 

Yet, as story after story comes out across the country where police are shown to interact with Black and Brown people in a completely different way than they engage with whites, I look at this incident in Elkridge and wonder. Is there more to the story? Would a white driver have ended up alive at the end of this traffic stop? Will the body camera footage corroborate the state trooper’s account?

There was a time in my life that I would have read the state trooper’s account and taken his word for it. Now I find myself uncomfortable with giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

Kudos to the journalists who took the time to examine this story. It gives the reader more than the usual amplification of a police report. Read it and tell me what you think.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more