The Police Just Pulled You Over. Know Your rights?

You’ve just been pulled over by the police. The officer approaches your vehicle and claims he can smell drugs in your car and demands you allow him to search the vehicle. You explain to the officer you’ve never done drugs before, but they insist, with more assertion this time, that they must search your vehicle and seize any property they deem necessary. Do you allow them to do so?

Do you know your rights?

That was one of the many examples Emilio De Torre gave Monday night at UW-Milwaukee in the Fireside Lounge as the university wrapped up its Black Lives Matter outreach with a “Know Your Rights Training” event. De Torre is the state director of youth and programs for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. The goal of the non-partisan organization is to promote and protect the civil liberties and civil rights of all people in Wisconsin.

De Torre recommends keeping both hands on the steering wheel in your car while calmly reciting this line over and over. “Respectfully officer, I don’t consent to search and seize of any of my property.”

De Torre said, since the 1970s, the number of incarcerated people in America has increased by 500 percent, and Wisconsin now jails 2.2 million people. Wisconsin also disproportionately incarcerates minorities, landing number one in the country for the most children and African American males behind bars.

De Torre cited increased suspension rates in schools and zero tolerance policies contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline along with racial biased policing, curfews, and driving while black.

“In Milwaukee your 548 percent more likely to be ticketed and arrested for marijuana than if you’re white,” said De Torre. “We grossly over police, ticket and incarcerate our black men. “White and black people smoke the same amount of weed.”

De Torre listed the many collateral consequences that come along with criminal convictions: The loss of the right to vote, to have a driver’s license, passport, federal student aid, the denial of federal benefits, and of course the difficulty of finding a job or housing.

“If you have an interaction with law enforcement, the consequences are huge,” said De Torre.

UWM student Association Senator Benjamin Gerard was in attendance to learn new information with hopes to affect the campus in a positive way.

“Knowledge is power and were here learning new things,” said Gerard. “That’s why we’re on campus.”

A large portion of the examples of possible interactions with law enforcement all circled back to knowing your rights covered in the Constitution under the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects your right as a citizen to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, including arrest.

Police need probable cause or a warrant provided by the courts to search you, and are trained to get you to give consent.

If you’ve been pulled over by the police and they approach your vehicle claiming they smell drugs, they’ll use that as an excuse for probable cause.

“Police are allowed to lie to you,” said De Torre. “Anybody can say anything. “This is not an anti-police rant, this a consequence of the system.”

He warned of the good cop-bad cop play which often occurs. After dealing with a cop yelling at you and demanding access to your car and property, another cop will come over to you and apologize for his fellow officer’s behavior.

The cop will ask you to sign a paper claiming once you do so you’ll be free to go.

“Don’t do it,” said De Torre. “You just admitted guilt and will be arrested.”

The strained relationship between the police and minority communities stems from implicit bias, he said. That alleged bias can come from numerous places. We can learn it from other people such as neighbors, family members, or simply watch the news and see how minorities are typically displayed in a negative light.

“Implicit bias is something we all have,” said De Torre. “Unless we examine them within ourselves they can be very deadly. “Were embarrassed in Wisconsin to talk about racism.”

As far as a solution to building the relationship between minority communities and police officers, De Torre, who spent time in Brooklyn doing gang intervention, says it’s his life work to do so.

“There is an answer but its complex,” said De Torre. “People don’t want to look soft on crime but they don’t realize it’s destroying communities.”