A few months ago, I was pulled over and issued a ticket for making a right turn on red. Thank you Officer Neff (no, I'm not kidding.) So, I was in front of a fairly large shopping center, as I wanted to slide in to Best Buy and pick up a rebate form. Time is roughly 7:30PM on a spring/summer Friday evening.
After I signed the ticket, Officer Nef (who had already called for backup, a second officer now one the scene ... both officer were white, I'm Black, remember, with a goatee and mustache, no less) asked if he could search my car. Knowing that had nothing of interest, I agreed. The next thing I know, he was searching me! I was like "WTF!" No prompting or anything. He said absolutely NOTHING about search my person. Thankfully, I was so dumbfounded that I didn't react in a way that could have gotten me killed.
So, after an extensive search by the Nefstah (all I seem to remember is developing a sever case of dry mouth and Neffy surprised that I had a golf bag and clubs in my trunk), nothing was found. After being told that there is heavy narcotic traffic in the area (supposedly justifying the search), I went on my way.
I never pursued the issue any further, paying th ticket by mail. But, it wasn't the fact that I just so happened to be Black and got pulled over that leaves me with a bitter taste. It's the search of my person WITHOUT asking/notifying that gets me.
I'm not really sure if racial profiling fits this case (a factor as to why I didn't look in to things further), but it was one hell of a reality check.
-SUO