LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles City Council president was recently called out by police officials following allegations made by the council president framing a recent traffic stop he was subject to as one stemming from racial profiling.
Earlier in March, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson claimed during one of the council’s meetings that he was subjected to a traffic stop by the LAPD that was motivated by the fact that he’s black. The alleged scenario was brought up during the meeting as the topic of pretextual traffic stops was being discussed.
Harris-Dawson claimed that, upon being pulled over by an LAPD officer mere days before the council meeting, the officer demanded he roll down his window and then proceeded to inquire about why he was driving a city-owned vehicle.
“The first question was, roll down your windows. The second question was, how do you have this vehicle? The third question was, well, you work for the city. What job do you do for the city?” Harris-Dawson said of the alleged interaction, adding, “In fact, I’m the president of the council. I had to explain this on the corner of Main and 25th Street, while I was trying to get to the committee just two days ago.”
The city council president also took these claims of a “traumatic” experience to social media, leading his followers online to tout the theory that Harris-Dawson was a victim of the concept of “driving while black,” a sociological theory that has been heavily debated as to whether the issue is as widespread as activists claim.
However, police officials responded to Harris-Dawson’s claim of a racially motivated traffic stop, shedding light on the police interaction while highlighting some significant omissions made by the city council president regarding the incident.
Namely, Harris-Dawson wasn’t pulled over by the LAPD, but rather was stopped for a moving violation by a school resource officer stationed near a high school while the morning drop-off routine was occurring. Furthermore, Harris-Dawson also forgot to mention that he was issued a ticket for his alleged moving violation.
“During our morning school drop-off, a Los Angeles School Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop based on an observed moving traffic violation in the vicinity of one of our high schools and issued the driver a citation,” a spokesperson for the department revealed in the wake of Harris-Dawson’s version of events.
Neither the city council president nor any of his representatives have yet addressed the statement shared by police officials.
Earlier in March, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson claimed during one of the council’s meetings that he was subjected to a traffic stop by the LAPD that was motivated by the fact that he’s black. The alleged scenario was brought up during the meeting as the topic of pretextual traffic stops was being discussed.
Harris-Dawson claimed that, upon being pulled over by an LAPD officer mere days before the council meeting, the officer demanded he roll down his window and then proceeded to inquire about why he was driving a city-owned vehicle.
“The first question was, roll down your windows. The second question was, how do you have this vehicle? The third question was, well, you work for the city. What job do you do for the city?” Harris-Dawson said of the alleged interaction, adding, “In fact, I’m the president of the council. I had to explain this on the corner of Main and 25th Street, while I was trying to get to the committee just two days ago.”
The city council president also took these claims of a “traumatic” experience to social media, leading his followers online to tout the theory that Harris-Dawson was a victim of the concept of “driving while black,” a sociological theory that has been heavily debated as to whether the issue is as widespread as activists claim.
However, police officials responded to Harris-Dawson’s claim of a racially motivated traffic stop, shedding light on the police interaction while highlighting some significant omissions made by the city council president regarding the incident.
Namely, Harris-Dawson wasn’t pulled over by the LAPD, but rather was stopped for a moving violation by a school resource officer stationed near a high school while the morning drop-off routine was occurring. Furthermore, Harris-Dawson also forgot to mention that he was issued a ticket for his alleged moving violation.
“During our morning school drop-off, a Los Angeles School Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop based on an observed moving traffic violation in the vicinity of one of our high schools and issued the driver a citation,” a spokesperson for the department revealed in the wake of Harris-Dawson’s version of events.
Neither the city council president nor any of his representatives have yet addressed the statement shared by police officials.
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