Front License Plates and Air Fresheners

Being from Cincinnati, we are all too aware of police brutality and the killings of unarmed black men by police officers. There was Timothy Thomas in 2001 who was shot and killed by Officer Stephen Roach during a non-violent misdemeanor stop. Thomas fled police when they discovered he had 14 outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Roach met him in a dark alley and shot him in the chest. More recently, there was Sam DuBose who was shot and killed by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing. Tensing pulled Dubose over because he was “missing a front license plate.” Similar to the killing of Timothy Thomas, Sam DuBose attempted to flee and was shot and killed by Tensing. The only thing found in DuBose’s car was 4 bags of marijuana and a jar of marijuana. These two Cincinnatians who were murdered at the hands of white police officers continue to haunt our city and also our nation as a whole. Cincinnati Police have implemented reforms thanks to the collaborative agreement, but the FOP and Dan Hils continue to resist these reforms the further we move away from Timothy Thomas’ death. City Council and the Mayor continue to fund CPD to the fullest extent despite the FOP’s serious resistance to these reforms which is extremely troubling. 

As we look outside of Ohio, my eyes are drawn to Minnesota. A state that has come under serious scrutiny for police officers killing unarmed black men. First there was Philando Castile; a 32 year-old black man who was a law abiding citizen that worked at a local school in the dining services department. He was a law-abiding gun owner and was murdered in cold blood because the cop became so frightened Castile was going to shoot him, despite the fact Castile disclosed the firearm was in the car and he was legally allowed to have it. His death was even livestreamed on Facebook, something that still haunts me to this day. After Castile, there was George Floyd who died because officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee and all of his body weight on the back of Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd was unjustly sentenced to death by a police officer because he used a counterfeit $20 bill and may have been intoxicated during the incident. And fast forward to April 2021 and we have Daunte Wright who was pulled over because he had too many air fresheners dangling from his rearview mirror. 

Daunte Wright was killed on April 11, 2021 because he attempted to flee a traffic stop and Officer Kim Potter accidentally pulled out her handgun instead of her taser and shot him. We can now add “too many air fresheners dangling from your rearview mirror” to the long list of reasons unarmed black men are killed in this god forsaken country. Laws like the “missing front license plate” and “too many air fresheners on your rearview mirror” are inconsistently enforced and appear to only exist to give officers an excuse to stop individuals they deem subjectively suspicious. 

When I was 19 years old, I was an awful driver who owned a beat up 1992 Chevrolet Lumina. At one point, I hit a curb and lost my front license plate. I was pulled over by two Cincinnati Police Officers in East Price Hill on West 8th Avenue for having a missing front license plate. I explained to them the situation that I had intended on replacing it, but never got around to it. After checking my ID and registration, the traffic stop was over in less than 5 minutes and I was free to go. The obvious differences between Sam DuBose’s traffic stop and mine was that I provided identification and my skin color was white. He died over a missing front license plate while 19 year old me happily drove away without consequence. I also want to mention the fact my white mother owns an Audi Q7, one of those fancy luxury SUVs. She never put a front license plate on her Audi for the 4 years she owned it because that would’ve diminished the appearance of the car, according to her. She was never stopped or pulled over once for having a missing license plate. The fact that these laws are enforced so subjectively and inconsistently are maddening, especially when it leads to the unnecessary death of black Americans. Imagine the shock and anger you would go through if a police officer stopped you for having too many air fresheners on your rearview mirror. It’s absolutely outrageous and believe it or not, Ohio has their own “distracted driver” law that says you cannot have items dangling from your rearview mirror. If it is ever enforced, I suspect black Ohioans are the main ones subjected to it.

There are good police officers and some bad ones. The issue with police brutality  is that it’s systemic and has been happening for centuries in this country. Protecting and serving ultimately means protecting and serving the ruling class (ie, white people). Refocusing our attention back to Cincinnati, we continue to see discriminatory enforcement of laws despite the collaborative agreement. One of my favorite Twitter follows is @ScorpiaStunning and they often shed light on the racial makeup of the “criminals” CPD charge with “breaking the law.” One popular topic is the enforcement of the “Marijuana Ordinance Violations” and how very few white Cincinnatians are charged with violating this ordinance. Naturally, black residents make up the vast majority of individuals charged in violation of such an asinine law. 

In the end, the idea of policing needs to be totally flipped on its head. For the most part, police usually just respond to crime and do not actually prevent it. Yet, our country funds the police and the military like it’s going out of style. You know what would help prevent crime more than putting more cops on the street? Diverting money away from the police and military and investing it into schools, recreation centers, universal basic income and improving neighborhood infrastructure. But considering our state legislature is mostly made up of old white Republican men, the money goes where they want it to go. And any attempt to direct money that will actually help regular Ohioans is usually thwarted, especially if those Ohioans aren’t white. Someone save me from this depressing hellscape.