Tyler Perry Pulled Over, Accuses White Cops of Racial Profiling via Facebook

[cali]

By Andrew Chow, JD at FindLaw.com

Thu Apr 5, 2012 8:13pm EDT

Tyler Perry's April 1 Facebook post about police pulling him over was no April Fool's joke: The highest-paid man in entertainment is accusing a pair of white Atlanta police officers of racial profiling.

Four days later, Perry's post boasts more than 117,000 "likes," 21,000 comments, and 12,000 shares. Atlanta police have launched an internal investigation, E! News reports.

Perry's predicament began when he admittedly made a left turn from a far-right lane -- a trick his security detail taught him, to make sure he wasn't being followed, Perry explained on Facebook.

Two white Atlanta police officers pulled him over, but apparently did not realize they'd just stopped Tyler Perry.

<snip>

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/06/tagblogsfindlawcom2012-celebrityjustice-idUS59773884520120406

so what do DUers think? Profiling or not?

[Indydem]

1. So by his own admission, he broke the law.

But he isn't being cited because he is Tyler Perry?

I think this has less to do with race, and more to do with fame and wealth.

[uponit7771]

3. How did he break the law with that turn? I don't see him admitting that. TIA

[cali]

7. the article cites the Georgia law which makes it clear

that he broke it by making that turn- and btw I know of NO PLACE where that's legal. It's incredibly dangerous. Whether he knew or not is immaterial. And frankly,l I think his whining that this was racial profiling is terribly off base.

[uponit7771]

17. He would've been ticketed then and that would've been it

[tularetom]

2. Appears that he did a very dumb and potentially dangerous thing

but that doesn't mean that racial profiling was not practiced. I wasn't there so I have no idea what was said or how they treated him.

It 's very possible they were rude or made racially tinged comments. It's also possible he was defensive over having knowingly performed a violation of traffic laws and approached the situation with a chip on his shoulder.

Or maybe both are true. If you didn't witness the traffic stop you can't really say.

[uponit7771]

4. No, ...that's not what the article says...

"...Perry was released, but news reports do not indicate whether he was cited for his illegal left turn or tinted windows..."

If he did something wrong he should've gotten a ticket PERIOD

[cali]

8. uh, again the article makes it CRYSTAL clear he broke the law.

It appears he got off because he's rich and famous.

[uponit7771]

18. Was he given a ticket BEFORE the other cop rolled up?! No. Was this a matter of a ticket?

...yes.

[Meiko]

5. So he makes an illegal turn

is pulled over and questioned about it, this is racial profiling how? It sounds more like a photo op to me.

[Fastcars]

6. The Illegal Turn Nullifies The Profiling Charge, IMO

I would be more upset if I saw a cop NOT pull someone over for makin a left turn from the far right lane. How can you claim racial profiling, which does occur far too often, but admit you made a very dangerous turn to cause the stop?

Sounds more like a rich person pulling the old "Do you know who I am?" trick. I imagine the cops lectured Mr. Perry, as they tend to do, and he didn't appreicate it.

[uponit7771]

9. If the turn was illegal he SHOULD have gotten a ticket!!! It wasn't, they let him go

[Edweird]

28. That's some specious reasoning you've got going on there.

The police do have some discretion in ticket writing.

[vaberella]

10. This was racial profiling. Because cali you're looking at it in one angle.

The issue wasn't the breaking the law that Tyler Perry was talking about. It wasn't the ticket. The issue was the following harassment that was not necessary. You conveniently forgot this. The other cop had no need to go and have him turn down his windows. All that was needed was the ticket and you call it a day. There was clear harassment and hostile treatment by the police officers that you are ignoring to focus on the breaking of the law. I find that to be a rather obtuse approach.

[uponit7771]

11. That too...the fact they never gave him a ticket is another. They didn't know what his name was

...before the other black cop came and said something.

[cali]

12. sorry, but I just don't agree, Here's why:

Odds are huge that anyone who reacts to a cop the way he evidently did (as self-reported) is going to get some push back from the cops.

I think this is a clear case of a person with privilege who thinks he's above the law.

[uponit7771]

15. I don't know what story people are reading but he reacted just like I was taught, no beligierante

...and calm.

[vaberella]

21. How did he react to the cop?

He rolled down his windows. And responded to the demands of the first cop without even getting the chance to finish his statements. The cop was clearly not having his statement be worth while. This went on to the point the other cop actually started opening his door. And both cops were definitely hostile. He even asked the police officer if anything happens if he can get out of the car. All his statements were respectful and on point. I believe the cops were even requesting that he go with them in their car. For what?

Nothing he did was out of whack with any procedure. He was overly respectful and to protect himself asked the two cops if he could get out of the car, so he could be protected if the cops went too far-- as in physical harm. Lastly, you must have read his statement when the Black cop came by and explained to them who he was. Both police officers apologized profusely and their entire mannerisms change. Why? Obviously they realized they were in the wrong.

I don't think you read the article. Or your sticking to your story because you don't want to racialize something that is blatantly racial. To you it might be nothing. To a Black man or even I, a Black woman, the issue is the mistreatment that wasn't warranted even if a crime was committed---or let me rephrase: a misdemeanor was committed. The cops were over the top but your saying they were in the right for acting the way they did over something so petty. Shit it doesn't take two cops over something like this. Most cops even ignore it because it's done so often.

They didn't even ticket the man. But continously harassed him in different ways. Do you think these cops were justified in their actions over a left turn on a red light?

[DevonRex]

13. The Reuters article doesn't link to his FB

page and only quotes what his mother ways told him. So there's not enough information here. Very poor job by Reuters.

[slampoet]

14. I do like the part in the story

where it takes a black cop to explain the the white cops who Tyler Perry is....


"Then why haven't I seen any of his movies?"

[uponit7771]

16. LOFL!!! He's been on 60 mins and many numerous awards and lives in ATL...this is too funny

[pokerfan]

36. There are many famous people I might not recognize

Myself, I would recognize Perry, but the larger question is why should it matter?

[slampoet]

42. It is funny. i didn't say it Mattered.

[Generic Brad]

44. Obviously he was not a "Star Trek" fan

Or a "Medea" fan for that matter.

[-..__...]

19. Never even hard of him until now...

(I had assumed he was some sports figure until I Googled his name).

Sounds like he was the one that fucked up.

The window tint I couldn't care less. The illegal left turn from the right-hand lane... that's a major asshole move (I see it all too often).

That's the kind of stunt that causes road rage incidents.

[uponit7771]

20. NOT giving him a ticket IS indication of racial profiling! Along with the treatment after the stop..

...of the car!

If he was doing something wrong give him the ticket and let him go, calling for back up and all that shit is part of the harassment.

My wife would NEVER EVER believe the racial profiling until the 7th time I got stopped with her in the car. At that point she got belligerent and was like are you going to give us a ticket or not...the cop backed off.

But she'd cried enough before then praying for my health because the tapping on the window and all the other shit isn't part of stopping someone and giving them a ticket.

If there was REAL evidence that he was guilty of doing something wrong they SHOULD have and WOULD have given him a ticket

[Snake Alchemist]

45. you're confusing racial profiling with the power of wealth and fame.

[aspieextrodinare]

22. Really?

I am white and have been made to pull over for turning into the middle lane out of a parking lot (at 11 at night with no one on the road) and made to give a slight subriority (sp?) test. Granted what I did was technically illegal, but nowhere near as much as what Tyler Perry did. I mean who doesn't do that 10 times a day?

[Brickbat]

24. Welcome to DU! I like your name.

[aspieextrodinare]

26. Thanks

The worst part about my experience is that I had no clue why I was being pulled over. As far as I knew at the time I had done nothing wrong other than maybe start moving a bit too fast. I made sure to pull into a well lit street before getting off the road (which the cop then yelled at me about because I made a left hand turn to do it).

[Brickbat]

23. Rich guy gets treated like shit until someone figures out he's rich.

That's how I see it, and it pisses me off that he's pissed. Race has little to nothing to do with it.

[Egalitarian Thug]

29. I have to disagree, I've been involved in this kind of crap and even in this case

it's all about race. I have a friend that is both black and a studio exec. He lives in Mount Olympus in the Hollywood hills. He is probably even richer that Tyler Perry and has been for a long time. At the end of a long day we'd head back to his "shack" for a bit of relaxation, and more often than not, if he was driving, we'd get pulled over and go through a 20 - 60 min. crap-fest for some BS reason. When I drove we never got pulled over, even once (and I used this as an excuse to let me drive, especially when he had the baby Lambo. , sweet!).

[Brickbat]

31. What you describe implies that when your friend was driving, he didn't make any stupid traffic moves

such as turning left from the right-hand lane like Tyler Perry reportedly did. Stupid traffic move trumps race in Perry's case; race wins in yours.

[Egalitarian Thug]

38. Absolutely determined to miss the point, aren't you?

In America today, there is no way to avoid breaking the law. Everything is, or might be, against a law or ordinance or regulation.

We (white people) are not suspect and can do pretty much as we please so long as we are not directly challenging authority. Black people are always guilty of something.

[aspieextrodinare]

39. Perry said the windows were tinted

How could the officer tell what the race of the person inside was before pulling him over? For that matter there is a slight difference between say, turning into the middle lane (as I once got pulled over for), and turning left from the right lane (which one of these days will get himself or someone else killed, not to mention it makes you look intoxicated).

[Brickbat]

41. Tyler Perry could have avoided breaking the law by not turning left from a right-hand lane.

Problem solved! In fact, it's something I manage to avoid doing every day.

[Egalitarian Thug]

43. So the answer is "yes". n/t

[Brickbat]

46. Is your point that racial profiling exists? I totally agree.

However, pulling him over for breaking the law is not racial profiling.

[Solomon]

25. Tyler Perry is an idiot. That's not racial profiling.

After making the turn he made it worse by telling the cops he did it to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Idiot.

[aspieextrodinare]

27. Yea

I find it hard to believe security detail would suggest a guy make an illegal turn that makes you look intoxicated (if I saw someone do that, that would be what I would guess was the cause).

[cr8tvlde]

30. Tyler Perry is no favorite of mine, however,

I believe the quote below makes it both celebrity pandering (which defines almost every stop in Los Angeles County) and racially impacted, in this case happens to be both.

In LA County, the station will get upset with an officer who wastes their time and resources bringing in a celebrity because it's bad press and they know just one quick call by some famous attorney, and he'll be out. Illegal U Turn doesn't even show up on the "radar".

Quote ... "Lastly, you must have read his statement when the Black cop came by and explained to them who he was. Both police officers apologized profusely and their entire mannerisms change. Why? Obviously they realized they were in the wrong."

More likely the black cops watch his program and the white cops do not, so the Celebrity Factor wasn't in place until the black cop ID-ed him as a Celebrity.

[aspieextrodinare]

32. Ummm... he was in Atlanta

From what I know that is pretty far from LA County

[cr8tvlde]

37. Yes, of course, but the correlation is the same

and I can't speak for Atlanta yet it's pretty much every metro area...celebrity recognition was the point.

[HipChick]

33. DWB...

Driving While Black..happens all the time...this is not news..at least not to black people, especially males

[aspieextrodinare]

34. If the windows were tinted like he says

how could they tell he was black? Beyond that are you suggesting if a white person made a dangerous illegal turn, they wouldn't be pulled over?

[HipChick]

40. Depends on the degree of tint...

[petronius]

35. I think he needs to get another security detail, the one he has now is

gonna get him t-boned.

I think he probably should have gotten the ticket, and it should have been issued professionally, courteously, and in the same manner that any of us would have gotten it. If either of those didn't happen, then I'd guess some profiling occurred...