One of seven vehicles making its way from Madison to Texas to deliver more than $300,000 worth of badly needed supplies to victims of Hurricane Harvey was pulled over by a Missouri State Patrol officer and the driver asked to exit the vehicle, raising questions about racial profiling, according to Boys and Girls Club CEO Michael Johnson.
“He claimed our driver was (speeding) but (the officer) was in front of us. Pulled on the side of me. Looked inside the car and then pulled us over,” Johnson said in a text message to Madison365. “I don’t even think we were speeding. He was in front of us and with all the weight in the van, I doubt we were going faster than 65.”
The officer asked driver Dan Hawk to step out of the vehicle, claiming Hawk needed to be outside the vehicle in order for the officer to check his identification and insurance documents. He ignored Johnson’s further questions.
Johnson captured an audio recording of some of the encounter:
Missouri State Patrol Captain John Hotz told Madison365 that it is standard procedure for officers to ask drivers to sit in their patrol car while they go over documents and discuss any infractions, rather than the officer standing outside the car while the driver remains in the car.
“It’s just safer for everyone all around,” Hotz said.
The officer that pulled Hawk and Johnson over did not, however, ask them to sit in his patrol car. They all remained outside their vehicles on the side of the busy highway.
“Maybe he asked us out of habit,” Johnson said. “I know officers don’t know what they are walking up on. We just stayed calm and wanted to live another day to tell our story and accomplish our work.”
In the end it worked out – the officer did not write them a ticket.
“No ticket and thanked us for our services and was a complete gentleman after he found out what we were doing,” Johnson. “Prior to that he was cold and would not even respond to me after I politely asked him twice why we had to get out the car.”
The NAACP recently issued a travel advisory, warning people of color to stay out of the state following a long list of incidents of discrimination and new legislation making discrimination easier.
“My experience in Missouri after living here for three years is sometimes it’s scary,” Johnson said.
The Madison convoy is expected to arrive in Austin at 10 am tomorrow to begin distributing supplies, and to pick up some Madison residents and relatives of Madison residents to bring them back to Madison in the coming days.
