It was just a few days ago when a famous Hollywood Couple, who were enjoying their vacation, were randomly pulled over by South Carolina’s police department. Cherie Johnson, who is most notable for her role as the best friend of Laura Winslow on one of the hit television series of the 90’s, Family Matter’s, was arrested along with her boyfriend Dennis White, who is best known for his role in the film Notorious. What started off as a romantic getaway ended up as a night they are sure to never forget as the couple says they were racially profiled by the officer who pulled them over. The couple claims that while driving Cherie asked her boyfriend to pull over to the side of the road because she was sure the passage alongside the road was a cotton field. Having never witnessed a site like this, Cherie was quite excited to walk through the field and take pictures so that she could always remember this moment. While walking back to the car, the couple noticed that a police car had pulled up behind their vehicle with his lights on, and as they approached the officer he immediately began questioning them about all sorts of things. The couple recalls the encounter with the officer as a most unpleasant one as he questioned them about their possible involvement with drugs, as well as why there was so much cash in the bags that they were traveling with. The officer without any hesitation put both of them in handcuffs as he searched their belongings. With this being Johnson’s first time in handcuffs, she could not believe it and says, “He told me … I was being detained for his safety because he didn’t know me,” Although White says he has been racially profiled before, he says this time it was different and he was “distraught because his woman was involved and that touched his core.” After investigating whatever it is he was looking for, the cop did not arrest the couple but chose to let them go without even offering an apology for searching the couple’s property and handcuffing them based on assumptions of what type of people he thought them to be. Despite being let go, White says he won’t stop talking about the incident until “that racist cop” is reprimanded and punished.
I find this entire situation to be really interesting. Time after time we all have seen in the news stories about cops who mistreat human beings simply because they are in charge. With their badge on, some cops feel a major sense of entitlement and choose to abuse the power granted to them. It is never right for anybody, no matter what race they are, to be treated unfairly by a cop for any reason whatsoever. I find it extremely irresponsible and quite disgusting that certain cops are perfectly fine with disrespecting people and making assumptions about a person’s character just because of the way they look. Everyone should be treated with the same level of respect and dignity no matter what race they are or where they come from. Incidents like the one described above should be taken seriously, but unfortunately most are just brushed under the rug as if nothing ever happened. It’s time to demand something more from the system so that occurrences like this will exist no more.