THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LISTEN UP
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
DEAR VORANDO AND KAREN,
I was at a Virginia Beach high school football game and I was simply saying ``hi'' to an old friend on the sidelines when a police officer approached me and told me to return to my seat because I wasn't supposed to be roaming the stadium area. Rather than ask him why he singled me out of a whole group of students, I simply said ``goodbye'' to my friend and began to return to my seat.
All of a sudden, he began yelling at me for no reason (that I could think of), so I raised my voice. Then I was threatened with being ``thrown out of the park.''
Later that night, a few of my other acquaintances spoke about the same problem. Question: Was I wrong for yelling back and what should I have done? - Young, black and frustrated
Dear YB and F,
I'm sure you have heard and seen stories of alleged police harassment and abuse of young blacks. It does happen, but before you jump to conclusions ask yourself this: Could it be that the incident at the game was a clash of perceptions?
If, as you say, you were in no way a threat to the safety of the fans or anyone else, you have a right to be mad. We'll talk more about that later.
The officer was right to ask you to move since you were standing in an area where spectators are not allowed to stand. The areas directly in front of the stands at field level are off-limits to spectators.
According to Officer John Gandy of the Virginia Beach Police Department, this is a rule set forth by the School Board for two reasons. The first is to ensure a safety zone between the spectators and the players on the field. The second is for the courtesy of the spectators in the stands.
Perhaps the officer perceived that you ignored his request and did not leave quickly enough. If so, he may have felt that he needed to raise his voice to get your attention. Meanwhile, your perception was that the officer was unfairly singling you out and disrespecting you because of your skin color and age.
Your reaction was wrong. Yelling made you look like the type of person that the officer was there to remove to maintain order and safety.
Another approach was needed in this case. Maybe you could have calmly explained your perception of the incident to the officer and then listened to his. You know what it feels like to be stereotyped, so don't compound the problem by stereotyping all police officers as mean.
If you were indeed harassed or mistreated, the proper course of action would be to get the officer's name and/or badge number and report the officer to his or her superiors who can take corrective action.
If something like this happens in the future, don't be defensive. Defensiveness only makes you look like a troublemaker and invites more trouble and in no way resolves the problem. MEMO: Vorando Mack is a senior at Norview High School and Karen Baranski is a
senior at Green Run High School. Their column appears biweekly in
Teenology. You can ask questions by calling INFOLINE at 640-5555 and
entering category 8335, or write to them at Listen Up!, 4565 Virginia
Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462. by CNB