I recently saw a police officer patting down a Muslim boy that looked sixteen years old. He raised his hands and formed a V shape with his legs, while the officer maneuvered his hands brusquely from top to bottom, searching for drugs and dangerous weapons like explosives. The young man had tears streaming down his face and was reciting a prayer. As I walked past the boy, he gave me a look full of helpless sorrow. He was unable to express the degradation and intimidation he felt, and tried speaking to the officer politely by using words like "sir," "please," and "excuse me." However, the police officer was unwilling to listen to his victim and caused subway surfers to direct and maintain their attention on the young boy. Unable to speak out for him, I walked away, breaking eye contact with the young boy, who was only two years older than my little brother.
This inaction of mine still haunts me, even today. My regret for having done nothing to help the young boy has impacted me profoundly, and through experience and knowledge, I began to realize the negative ramifications that the policy of stop and frisk had over the public. Like the young Muslim boy, there are many minority groups that are the targets of racial profiling which occurs through the policy of stop and frisk.
Being an African-American, Hispanic, Southeast Asian, Arab, Muslim, or homeless person, it is very difficult to travel on the mass transit within New York City. Whether it is the Q Line or the A Line, or the B8 or B11 law enforcement and MTA officers have begun to overuse and abuse the power to stop and frisk.
Even though this policy can create safer environments for the American public, especially around crowded areas, where threats of terrorism, theft, or rape may occur, it ultimately leads these officers to categorize criminals and create ideals of how certain master minds may appear. For example, the idea that a young African-American man wearing a hoodie, loose clothes, looking disheveled is a robber is a generalization that police officers develop because of this policy. Or when a young Muslim woman wearing a veil, as myself, is seen waiting on the subway or standing on the bus, police officers rashly associate her with being an extremist with explosives hidden under her long black dress. These stereotypes are used for stopping and searching "potential suspects" on "probable cause." Consequently, the public reacts with strong dislike towards these officers’ behavior.
Stop Racial Profiling Now! By: Marium Dar