It was nearly 8:00 p.m., and the last rays of sunlight were trying to break through the remnants of a torrential thunderstorm that had just passed through. I sat in my patrol car at the intersection of Malcolm X Boulevard and West 124 in Harlem, one block from Marcus Garvey Park, waiting for the light to change so I could continue my patrol.
There had been a spate of robberies and break-ins in the area over the past few weeks; and the department wanted regular patrols of the area as a show of force. Today was my turn to patrol the area.
Because of what has been described as my problematic attitude toward people of color, this was the very last place in the world that I wanted to be. However, since my Captain had given me this task, I was obligated to complete it regardless of my feelings. In fact, as I left his office, he made a strange remark, saying, "This is your last chance; I don't want you causing any more trouble. If we receive one more complaint about you, you won't like where you're being transferred to."
The light finally turned green just as a call came out over the radio, “Calling all units. A 10-66 at Harlem Renaissance High School.”
Harlem Renaissance High School was just a few blocks away from where I was; it was also the school where I was assigned as a Resource Officer during the school year. With a 14% graduation rate, Harlem Renaissance HS was one of the lowest-ranked schools in the entire New York City school system. Since the school lacked the resources necessary to teach them properly, I felt sorry for the students who had potential.
A 10-66 meant there was something fishy going on, so I was curious as to what it was and wanted to get there as soon as possible to check it out. I put my finger on the mic's transmit button and said, "Unit 1341 responding."
When I got to the school a few minutes later, I saw five teenagers (three boys and two girls) gathered around a parked car with its hood up. Jahmir Braxton, Gemma Thompson, and Imani Rogers were all students at this very school. Kai Cooper, Jahmir's cousin, was a student until his family relocated to Albany.
I had no idea who the other boy was, but assumed he must have known someone in the group. I feel compelled to mention that Gemma and Jahmir are an item and are notorious troublemakers. There was even talk that Gemma was having an affair with one of the teachers.
I parked my car and approached the group, saying, "Hello, my name is Officer McLaughlin with the New York Police Department; would you mind telling me what you're all doing here?"
Jahmir was the first of the group to speak, albeit with obvious disdain in his tone: "I recognize him; he's the bigoted school officer."
Looking at me, Kai remarked, "You'd think they'd fire his ass."
“You couldn't get better than me,” I said sharply.
“Why not?” Jahmir asked, his contempt for me clear in his voice.
Jahmir's lack of respect prompted me to turn my attention to him, saying, "I beg your pardon, boy?"
“We ain't doing nothing wrong, pig,” he said, showing me nothing but disrespect. “We just got some car trouble.”
Imani and Kai appeared to have good heads on their shoulders; if they could just be better friends, they could go far. "Why are you hanging out with this group?" I asked, looking at Imani. "They're only going to drag you down."
Imani, visibly stunned by my statement, responded, "Since when do you care?"
Finally finding his voice once again, Kai spoke up and said, “What are you doing here, man? We ain't done nothing.”
At this point, I'd had enough of their open disdain for me, so I turned serious and said, "We received reports of suspicious activity at the school, and when I arrived, I noticed that this car matched the description of one that had been reported stolen a few hours earlier."
I didn't care that the last statement was false. The group was well aware that I had lied, but only Kai called me out on it. "You're crazy, man; this is my pop's car, and he gave me permission to use it."
“Nice try,” I said, trying to be as smug as possible. “But you’re not old enough for even a learner’s permit.”
“Says you,” Kai replied. “I'm 17, and I got my license.”
By this point I figured that the unknown kid was definitely a friend of Kai’s from Albany. He looked at me and said, “This car ain't stolen.”
“Like I said, it looks like the one reported stolen.”
Looking at me, Kai said, “Like I said, it's my pop's car.”
“You can keep saying that all you want; but it doesn’t make it true.” Looking at the group, I said, “I haven't met one of you people who didn't think life was all about stealing cars and dealing drugs.”
Jahmir approached me somewhat aggressively, saying, "Man, just because we're black doesn't make us criminals."
"That's funny, coming from you; weren't you suspended last year for breaking some guy's nose?"
Jahmir glared at me and said, “That jerk deserved it; he was disrespecting my girl.”
I shrugged my shoulders and pointed to Gemma; and said, "You mean her?" I added, with a chuckle, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I bet your girl is cheating on you; she probably sleeps with the teacher."
Gemma leered at me and said, "Fuck you, pig."
“You're a little young for me,” looking at her, I added, “Besides, I don't like dark meat.”
Imani, who’d been silent until now happened to be watching as I lowered my arms, and my hand inched closer to my gun. Looking at me, she said, “Careful; he might decide he’s afraid for his life any second now.”
“I'm only threatened when someone threatens me; just like anyone else in the uniform.”
With a grin on her face, Gemma said, “Y’all look tired, pig; can I call you ACAB?”
At this point I finally decided I’d had enough; and wasn’t going to let this brats screw with me any longer. “Alright, that’s it; you’re all under arrest for possession of stolen property. You have the right to remain silent; astonish me, and prove you know how to do that.”
All five of them started freaking out as I called for backup over my radio; using a code that implied I was in imminent danger. That caused the entire area to be swarmed with cops within minutes. My sergeant, who’d been in the room when I met with the captain, happened to be one of the responding officers.
Approaching me as my fellow officers started cuffing the kids, my Sargent said, “Your report?”
Looking around the scene for a brief moment, I said, “They stole this car; when I showed up, they started threatening me.”
“That’s a lie,” Imani said as she was escorted to a waiting cruiser.
Coming up behind her with another officer, Kai said, “You're making a mistake. This is my father's car; he works in the governor’s office.”
“Oh really?” grinning ear to ear, I said, “He in charge of accepting bribes?”
“No; he's in charge of busting your ass.”
A few minutes later, as everyone was being transported to the police station, I was unaware of the impending shitstorm.
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