After all that has happened in 2020, I felt like I was on the outside looking in. There may not be anything worse than being misunderstood when it comes to interactions with law enforcement. Honesty, may not be the best policy, especially when they have been trained to lie or "negotiate". An incident happened that brought me back to reality and made me realize that in America, I am a "black" man first. I and a friend were coming home from our favorite sushi restaurant when another vehicle pulled up beside us, revving their engine to egging on a drag race. While at the time I didn't have a sporty car, I did have after-market wheels that made my Japanese car appear to be a contender; it wasn't. I wasn't up for the challenge even though I was less than 2 miles from my apartment, I decided to take a detour turning right and taking the longer route home. That would be the biggest mistake of my life (hopefully ever). After making that right turn I came upon other late-night traffic and made the turn too sharp and hit the curb. The after-market rims shattered like glass and we went spinning into other vehicles parked on the side of the street, in a no-parking area nonetheless. In any case, the car was immobilized and we sat there panicking and waiting for any passersby to help. We didn't want police assistance and begged to call a tow truck and we would be fine. That didn't happen. Long story short, we were helped by two deputy officers while they waited for the state trooper to appear on the scene. Initially, there was no issue and we were just preparing for the tow truck to clear the street.
Art by Aaron Hughes