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| Steven Hildreth, Jr. |
Arizona author and veteran Steven Hildreth, Jr., pretty much knew why a Tucson Police Department cruiser turned around and started following him. One of his headlights was out.
"The lights go on and I pull over," Hildreth wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday (10/27/2015) regarding the encounter.
“The officer asks me how I’m doing, and then asks if I have any weapons.” Hildreth replied, “Yes, sir. I’m a concealed carry permit holder and my weapon is located on my right hip. My wallet is in my back-right pocket.”
The officer explained that for his safety, he needs to disarm Hildreth for the stop. Hildreth said he understood, unlocked the car, and told the officer what type of holster he was wearing (7TS ALS).
The 2nd officer couldn't reach the holster, so the lead officer asked Hildreth to step out of the vehicle. Hildreth stepped out of the car, slowly, and one of the officers takes the Glock from the holster, complimenting the X3000U tactical flashlight attached to it. He also noticed Hildreth's military ID, and Hildreth told him he's with the National Guard.
The lead officer then pointed out that his registration card is out of date, and went back to the cruiser to check Hildreth's license. At this point, Hildreth writes in his Facebook post, "I know he’s got me on at least two infractions. I’m thinking of how to pay them." ("Maintenance of Lamps" and "Failure to Present Documents" (which includes expired documents), AFAIK.)
But as it turned out, he had nothing to worry about The officers gave Hildreth back his Glock, “locked and cleared” in an evidence container, and let him go with a warning to get his headlight fixed as soon as possible.
No "police brutality", nobody got thrown to the ground, not even a ticket.
Why? “Because you were cool with us and didn’t give us grief,” Hildreth recalled police telling him. “I smile. ‘Thank you, sir,’” he added.
Hildreth's Facebook post concludes:
“I’m a black man wearing a hoodie and strapped,”
“According to certain social movements, I shouldn’t be alive right now because the police are allegedly out to kill minorities.”“Maybe…just maybe…that notion is bunk. Maybe if you treat police officers with respect, they will do the same to you.
Police officers are people, too. By far and large, most are good people and they’re not out to get you. I’d like to thank those two officers and TPD in general for another professional contact. We talk so much about the bad apples who shouldn’t be wearing a badge.
I’d like to spread the word about an example of men who earned their badges and exemplify what that badge stands for.
#BlueLivesMatter
#AllLivesMatter" Here's a screencap of Hildreth's post:
As of Thursday (10/29/2015) night, Hildreth’s Facebook post received over 440K likes, over 42K comments and over 238K shares.
I'm sure having a military ID helped, and I'm really sure Arizona cops are a bit more professional than the ones in a certain East Coast state that shall remain unnamed, but there are certain things to do and not to do, during a traffic stop, that could mean the difference between a verbal warning or a ticket - or worse.
Keeping in mind that cops are people too, and being concerned for their safety as well as being clear about your intentions and actions, can go a long way.
There's a whole list of "do's and dont's" for traffic stops, but, that's a topic for another post.
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