The unarmed Black man who was attacked by a police K-9 while surrendering to authorities with his hands up earlier this month told emergency dispatchers that officers were “trying to kill” him and he did not feel safe pulling over, according to audio recordings of his 911 calls.
This reminds me of a study I read earlier this week, that routine stops of POC that escalate are clearly different right from the start. And that the people on the receiving end of those interactions, even just listening to the first chunk of it on recording, feel less safe, more anxious, and can predict escalation.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2216162120
I, too, would feel unsafe pulling over if someone pointed a gun at me… and I, too, would probably not want to stop knowing there’s a better-than-even change I’m going to get shot…