“It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Just a walk.”
A few months ago, I was walking home from a late-night grocery run—one of those 11 p.m. “oops, I forgot the milk” kind of errands. Hoodie up, earbuds in, plastic bag swinging at my side. I wasn’t thinking about much. Maybe wondering if I should’ve grabbed the cookies too.
And then, out of nowhere—flashing lights, a spotlight in my face, and two cops getting out of their cruiser like I’d just robbed a bank.
“Where are you headed?”
Now, I get it. They’ve got a job to do. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, though. Just walking. But that night, something shifted for me. I’d heard people talk about being stopped for no reason. But this was the first time I really felt it.
Ever since, I’ve noticed more and more folks in my neighborhood saying the same thing—quietly, in whispers over coffee or under their breath during block parties: “Why are there so many cops around lately?” Or, more specifically, “Why do they keep stopping us?”
It’s not just about crime or safety anymore. It’s about something harder to put your finger on—something that feels like being watched, even when you’re doing nothing wrong.
There’s this woman who lives a few doors down from me—let’s call her Tanya. She’s got two teenagers, works two jobs, and still somehow finds time to water the front lawn every evening. A few weeks ago, she told me her son got pulled over walking back from school. Not driving. Walking. They asked him if he was carrying anything “he shouldn’t be.” He was carrying a clarinet. He’s in band.
I don’t know what it is exactly. Maybe there’s more patrol funding. Maybe there’s a rise in petty crime. But something’s off. And it’s not just the stops—it’s how people are being talked to. Like they're suspects first, citizens second.
And I’ll be honest, there’s a weird guilt that creeps in when you start to notice it more. Like—Was I overreacting that night? Was it just a routine thing? But then the stories start stacking up. A friend of a friend got pulled over in his own driveway. A neighbor’s niece got stopped walking out of a 7-Eleven because she “matched a description” (whatever that means).
I’m not saying all cops are bad. I know that phrase gets tossed around a lot. But I am saying this: when people in a community start feeling unsafe around the very people who are supposed to protect them, something’s broken.
And yeah, I’ve heard the other side, too. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” But I’ve got to tell you—that doesn’t really hold up when you’ve been on the other side of a flashlight at midnight, trying to explain why your hoodie isn’t suspicious.
I don’t have all the answers. Maybe we need better training. Maybe we need more community involvement. Or maybe we just need to listen more—to the folks who are quietly trying to say, this doesn’t feel right.
I keep thinking about Tanya’s son, standing there with his clarinet case, being asked if he’s carrying drugs.
What kind of message does that send?
Maybe the better question is: what kind of world do we want to build—one where everyone feels safe, or one where safety comes with conditions?
Just something to think about next time you’re out for a walk.
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