Two black men were sitting in the dark on the brick wall across from our house the other night. It was late, in the middle of that odd, late-winter heat spell of a few weeks ago. A police officer rolled around the corner in his car, saw the men, was immediately suspicious. Normally there’s nothing going on down our street that causes a police presence late at night, but lately the police have been hot-spottin’ out here, checking through the area to make sure nothing’s going on. The cop slowed down to a stop in front of the two men. One of the men turned and said in a low voice to the other, “Watch him shine his light over here.” And so the cop did, pointing his piercing spotlight into the two black men’s eyes, blinding them. They squirmed and squinted, ducking their heads a little and putting up their hands against the glare. They knew better than to look away. You want to really arouse a cop’s suspicion? Try to get out of the way when he’s shining a light in your eyes. That’s a quick trip to the back of the police car.
-more-