Imani Perry, a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University was stopped by police for speeding. During the stop, when the officer ran her information, he discovered that her driver’s license was suspended because of a previously unpaid ticket. Perry claims she didn’t know about the unpaid ticket. Who is she trying to kid? She got the ticket, she didn’t pay the ticket, so what did she expect to happen.
That is when she invoked her black privilege and cried racism. Perry then took to the social media and complained about being treated badly and she claimed the officers were disrespectful to her. She even said point blank that she was treated unfairly because of her “blackness.” Much to her chagrin, the dash cam had been running through the stop and her subsequent arrest:
“The police treated me inappropriately and disproportionately. The fact of my blackness is not incidental to this matter.”
Let’s review the whole situation. Perry was ticketed for a prior offense. She didn’t pay the ticket. Her license was then suspended after she failed to take action after receiving a letter from the New Jersey DMV. She was stopped because she was speeding. At no time does she deny that. Once she failed to pay the ticket, her license was suspended and a warrant issued for her arrest.
Her argument is that she should not have been arrested, but while the officer may have discretion in whether or not to issue a ticket or a warning, they do not get to decide when to enforce a warrant. He also has no choice on whether to use handcuffs. Anytime someone has not appeared in court is considered a risk to skip again.
As you can see, she was never mistreated by the police and the officer actually apologized for being forced to handcuff her. Trying to use her “blackness” as an excuse not to live up to her responsibilities.