08-29-2015, 07:25 PM
8-28-2015
Ohio Cop Pulls Over Black Man Who 'Made Direct Eye Contact' With Him
Earlier this month, a police officer in Dayton, Ohio, tailed a man by the name of John Felton for two miles, then pulled him over for failing to use a turn signal 100 feet prior to making his turn. To be clear: Felton used a turn signal, but he apparently didn't put it on early enough.
Only after handing over a written warning did the officer acknowledge the real reason he'd pulled over Felton, a black man who was driving a car with out-of-state plates: He had "made direct eye contact" with the officer.
After a bit of back and forth, Felton tells the officer he's using his cell phone to record the conversation and insists he had used his turn signal.
"You did signal," the officer clarifies. "You just didn't do it 100 feet prior to your turn."
"You just needed a reason to pull me over, sir," Felton responds, handing over his license and registration. "Is there a reason you pulled me over other than that?"
The officer walks away, then returns a short time later with a written warning for the infraction.
"No disrespect, I don't have anything against police officers," Felton tells the officer, "but all the shit that's going on now, that's some scary shit to have a police officer just trailing you. ... Why were you trailing me?"
"Because you made direct eye contact with me and held onto it while I was passing you," he replies. "If you want to keep talking about it, I'll just give you a citation for the violation and we can take it to court. I'm not going to argue about it anymore."
Ohio Cop Pulls Over Black Man Who 'Made Direct Eye Contact' With Him
Earlier this month, a police officer in Dayton, Ohio, tailed a man by the name of John Felton for two miles, then pulled him over for failing to use a turn signal 100 feet prior to making his turn. To be clear: Felton used a turn signal, but he apparently didn't put it on early enough.
Only after handing over a written warning did the officer acknowledge the real reason he'd pulled over Felton, a black man who was driving a car with out-of-state plates: He had "made direct eye contact" with the officer.
After a bit of back and forth, Felton tells the officer he's using his cell phone to record the conversation and insists he had used his turn signal.
"You did signal," the officer clarifies. "You just didn't do it 100 feet prior to your turn."
"You just needed a reason to pull me over, sir," Felton responds, handing over his license and registration. "Is there a reason you pulled me over other than that?"
The officer walks away, then returns a short time later with a written warning for the infraction.
"No disrespect, I don't have anything against police officers," Felton tells the officer, "but all the shit that's going on now, that's some scary shit to have a police officer just trailing you. ... Why were you trailing me?"
"Because you made direct eye contact with me and held onto it while I was passing you," he replies. "If you want to keep talking about it, I'll just give you a citation for the violation and we can take it to court. I'm not going to argue about it anymore."
