Why Earledreka White Was Wrong - and How It Could Have Been Different

Earledreka White, a black woman, was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction. The police officer, following protocol, asked for driver's license etc. The woman, probably because she is black and expecting racism, refused to comply, and called 911 for a second officer.

Although White already failed to comply, stating she was being "harassed" because the officer was following standard protocol, the video shows the cop waited patiently for nearly 3 minutes while she called 911.

Now here is perhaps the most important point - whenever anyone, regardless of the offense (or their color) refuses to comply with a police officer, the standard operating procedure requires the officer to handcuff the individual until such time as the threat level has been determined. This procedure is for the safety of the officer because most police officers who are killed on duty are killed during a minor traffic stop. He, like you, wants to go home at night to be with his family. Only an idiot would not understand that.

The officer did not know the woman. He did not know if she might be armed. He did not know if she might be on drugs. He did not know if she had warrants. All he knew was that she committed a motor vehicle infraction, and that she refused to comply with his requests. And in doing his duty as required (after patiently waiting for 3 minutes), he handcuffed her to insure his own safety until the threat level is determined.

White again refused to comply, and resisted, and tried to fight him. She escalated the situation. Why she did so we do not know, but I suspect it was for the purpose of pushing the Black Lives Matter agenda.

There is a lesson here, for anyone stopped by the police for any reason: do exactly what the officer asks you to do, immediately and without argument. Do nothing more, nor anything less. Chances are if you are not a felon and have no warrants, you will soon be on your way. And if you feel you were stopped without cause, or have any gripe as to how you are treated, take it to court. But do NOT argue with the officer, resist detention, or resist arrest. If you do, you will not like how it ends.

In Illinois a police officer had stopped a man. The man told the officer he had a gun. Per strict police procedure, the officer ordered him to place his hands on the dash. Instead, the man reached down, presumably for his license. The officer thought he was reaching for the gun and shot the man. Though tragic, it was a good shoot, as the officer knew he had a gun, the man did not comply with the officer's request to keep his hands clear, and the officer wanted to go home that night. Had the man simply done what he was told, the officer would have had no reason to feel threatened and would not have shot him.

Ms White should have simply complied with the officer, who would have then either issued her a warning or a ticket, and she would have been on her way. She chose, instead, to be adversarial, resulting in  making the situation worse. That's on her.

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