I’m going to share something I never have. Partly because the Chauvin trial itself is incredibly triggering, but mostly because of how triggering it is to see people defending him and Minneapolis Police everywhere I look.
I talked to a civil attorney once about suing Minneapolis Police. He got all the information I had before telling me that I was a liar, out to ruin a “good man’s” reputation. Clearly, they had a personal connection. The next morning, I started getting followed by police.
For months, I was followed. I got a few bogus tickets, but usually, they just followed me. I still remember how scared I was all the time. They sat outside my apartment. I spent money I didn’t have on Ubers to try to avoid them.
Once, I ran into a Minneapolis officer who I had never met. They told me to “stay safe out there” with a wink. Every time I saw one of them behind me, my hands would be shaking on my steering wheel because I was so scared of what they might do to me if I got pulled over.
I was able to stop it because after I came forward publicly about my rape case, I started to make connections with powerful people above their heads. I finally got up the nerve to ask one of those more important people for help, and the harassment stopped the next day.
I want to make sure to say that I was still enormously privileged. If I changed my name or moved cities, it would’ve stopped. The majority of people who are harmed by police are targeted because of their race, class, immigration status - things that don’t change in a new city.
So when I see these comments day in and day out about how these poor, innocent police officers are being falsely persecuted by the public, I’m so angry I can barely think. It’s racism, it’s ignorance, it’s the viewpoint of someone in a safe & bigoted little bubble.
If you have been protected all your life from police, I’m glad. But truly, I do not need to see your thoughts anymore unless you are understanding what life has been like for the many, many people who have NOT been so lucky.
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