Last night I went with some friends to N.O. for Mardi Gras. First, we went to a parade in Metairie, La, and I thought everything would be cool for the rest of the night. After the parade we headed toward Bourbon Street. We tried to walk down the street; everything seemed cool at first, but someone started pushing the crowd in one direction; as a result, my friends and I were separated. After about five minutes, we were reunited with each other, but this incident paled in comparison to the subsequent incident.
As my friends and I were walking down a street off of Bourbon, a cop car comes flying a thousand miles per hour down the street, so I told my friends to get out of the way so they would not get hit. About two minutes later, this man (who is dressed in street clothing) approaches me aiming a gun at my chest. I started shouting to the policeman behind him, but the man who approached me tells me that he’s a cop. The cops escort my friends and I to the police car, while I am constantly and angrily shouting, “I did not do anything.” When we arrived at the police car, I had to spread my legs and place my hands on the car so I could be searched. Next, I was placed in cuffs because I was too “jumpy.” We asked the cops to enlighten us of the crime we had committed, and they informed us that I looked like I was warning my friends that they were coming and that I looked “suspicious,” and I replied, “Yes, I was warning them that you were coming because I did not want them to get hit.” About two minutes later, they got a call on their radio, and they let us go to go and harass some more people. I am cognizant of the crime statistics in N.O.; however, I do not believe that the cops should have used that as a pretext to treat me like a savage.
In closing, I want to say that I have the utmost respect for the policeman who performs his or her job well, which is to protect and serve, but I do not have any respect for those policemen who abuse their authority. Also, I have learned that no sober person should walk down Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras at night because it is not a fun place to be. Intoxicated people may be having fun while a large portion of New Orleans’ citizens are still living in FEMA trailers, and only half of them have returned, but I do not drink alcohol.
2007-03-07
19:48:15
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15 answers
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asked by
job_32787
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