Thread by @lesliemalex

Just got home from a harrowing experience and it's haunting me.... This is a long thread...

This evening I took my mom on an errand, and when we arrived in the parking lot there were four white male police officers surrounding two Black teen girls. 1/16

The officers stood in a circle--towering over the petite girls, clearly intimidating them. One girl was in tears. The other was hysterical, repeatedly yelling at the cops that they had no right to touch her. "I've done nothing wrong!," she kept screaming. 2/16

As we got out of the car, I told my mother, "We need to stand right here and observe. We need to make sure they're ok before we go inside." Our presence nearby clearly unnerved the officers, who kept glancing over at us while still seeking to detain and intimidate the girls. 3/16

One officer became increasingly irritated by the one girl who was boldly asserting her rights. As she saw us standing nearby, she got louder, repeatedly insisting that she had done nothing wrong, and that the cop should not have put his hands on her or taken her bag. 4/16

Finally I caught her eye... "Are you ok?" I shouted.
"No! I'm not ok!" she shouted back.
"It's gonna be alright," I replied, "we're staying right here."
At this point, the officers became increasingly agitated by our presence, and sent one over to talk with me and my mom. 5/16

A lengthy "conversation" ensued, in which the cop questioned our presence and we challenged their protocol and their treatment of the girls. Their "protocol" included increasing police presence (by the end, more than 12 cops were present) and verbally threatening the girls. 6/16

We asked: Why did the officer put his hands on her? Why did they take her bag? Did they have "just cause" to detain her and seize her property? Did they realize the girls were only minors? Why were they escalating the situation by bringing more law enforcement? Etc.. 7/16

The cop only replied by repeatedly telling us that he could not provide details of the situation, but that the girls had been walking where they were not supposed to walk.

He then asked me if I knew that by standing there, I was being recorded...
8/16

Me: "Yes, I do. And by standing here I am simply exercising my legal right to do so."
Him: 😑
Me Again: 😁
Him: 👿
9/16

Once the girls saw that we had no intention to leave, and that we were defending them, they walked over and told the police, "we want to stand near these women. This is the only place we feel safe."
"You stand here with us as long as you want," I said. 10/16

The police presence increased, as more cops arrived in huge SUVs. Meanwhile, the officer who had allegedly grabbed the one girl became more angry and agitated. He even threatened to put her in handcuffs if she didn't stop talking back to him. 11/16

But despite the intimidation, we continued to stand with the girls.

Finally, my mom asked..."why are we standing here? Why can't these girls just go?"

"If they've done nothing wrong," I added, "and you have not intention to arrest them, then they have a right to leave." 12/16

"That's right," one girl said, "we have feet and we can use them." And they simply walked away. The cops were stunned. We stayed until the girls were safely out of sight, while the police just huddled together muttering to themselves. 13/16

As it turned out, the police clearly no right or "just cause" to detain the girls And once the girls were out of sight, I felt a brief moment of relief.

It was over.

But was it really?

My mom and I tried to resume our errands, but we felt haunted... 14/16

I keep wondering to myself... "What would have happened if we hadn't stopped?" Everyone else in the parking lot just walked in and out of the store, passing by without a word or a pause. What would have happened to those girls if we had done nothing? 15/16

The point of this lengthy rant is just to say that we have to remember our rights and use them to defend and protect others. ANY and ALL of us can speak truth to power. We can stand up for what's right, and speak up when someone needs our voice... 16/16