Accusation against SOMA School Board member

Maybe this should be moved out of Maplewood Specific. She represents and lives in So Orange. I think Education might be more appropriate/

librarylady said:
Maybe this should be moved out of Maplewood Specific. She represents and lives in So Orange. I think Education might be more appropriate/

 Also, she was speeding in SO and the cop was SOPD although the place where she actually pulled over was in MW. 

I thought board of ed members represented the two towns?

Move it to Education, then. 

I'd prefer Soapbox or Virtual Cafe. It's bigger than just an education or town-specific topic. 

kthnry said:
I'd prefer Soapbox or Virtual Cafe. It's bigger than just an education or town-specific topic. 

I agree...

I think only the OP can move it

I'm sure the Fox news folks are utterly delighted to be able to air a news story showing a black woman being abusive to a perfectly polite and professional white officer. 

mrincredible said:
I'm sure the Fox news folks are utterly delighted to be able to air a news story showing a black woman being abusive to a perfectly polite and professional white officer. 

 Yep. This is going national.  

mrincredible said:
I'm sure the Fox news folks are utterly delighted to be able to air a news story showing a black woman being abusive to a perfectly polite and professional white officer. 

 Yeah, the optics suck. It detracts from the very real and constant physical threat POC are under from way too many police officers. I wish all officers were as professional and courteous as this one was.

How did this video get released?  Are these things public record?

Wow.  Just watched the video of the episode with the PA Commissioner in Tenafly.  What is with these people?

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

sprout said:
We can state absolutes based on this interaction. Or we can learn from it to help our community and police gain better understandings of each other.

This seemingly stress-induced emotional response is interwoven with assumptions of power and powerlessness. I think that recognizing this response pattern could help provide a key to understanding and improving interactions between police and community.

 Please elaborate. This might be interesting.

Not sure if I can explain it, but I'll try by using questions:

1. When having an interaction with a cop, is the assumption that the cop has all the power?

There appears to be an assumption that when a cop pulls you over, the cop has the power, and the one pulled over then is expected to play powerless, do what the cop asks, and accept any consequences meted out by the cop.

2. To what extent do cops then "allow" the person they are interacting with to have the illusion of maintaining some level of power?

One may try to influence the interaction to reduce or remove the consequence by employing various strategies. Some appear to be considered more socially acceptable (e.g., apologizing, trying to curry favor with the cop, flashing a military service card with one's drivers license), some are considered less socially acceptable (crying or giving a 'sob story'), and some not socially acceptable - but may be effective in some cases (connections, threats, bribery). 

And then there is arguing/defensiveness -- which seems to be an attempt to gain some level of power in the situation, and may be a reflexive impulse for some. But for those of us with the luxury of looking at this from the outside, seems unlikely to change the consequences.

But, in any case, this seems to be a strange dance where the cop gets to decide if they will allow you to exert some influence on the outcome or not. Like some type of a psychological power game.

3. Doesn't this strange power dance (assumed cop-real-power, with the cop being able to play a psychological-game-of-power with the person who is pulled over) seem like a recipe for things to go off the rails?

Being pulled over causes stress. And some people react unpredictably under stress. Especially if they are experiencing other stressors. (In this case, in addition to getting kids to school late, I assume there is an additional stress as a BOE member, and as a person of color, for their child to do 'twice as well'  on PARCC, and not be late and stress out the child).

Also, if one perceives an unfairness (e.g., having the insurance, and being able to get the image sent in a text - but not getting that documentation in time to avoid a court appearance) can add another layer of frustration.

From watching BOE meetings, Ms. Lawson-Muhammed usually seems on point, insightful, rational, and assertive. To me, the video sounded like a high-speed attempt at all possible strategies in #2. This may have been a response to multiple stressors, and thus the appearance of going off the rails in the strange power dance we're expected to play.

----------------------------------------------

When I said "I think that recognizing this response pattern could help provide a key to understanding and improving interactions between police and community." I meant that people with uneven or unpredictable relationships with power and power games, may play this psychological-power-game differently from those who trust power, and trust cops in power to be fair and merciful.

I'm not so sure that her response was all that unusual. My spouse and I sometimes joke about a 'temper tantrum' I had when I was under a lot of stress. It was so out of character for me. 

The video made me see more clearly the power-assumptions and psychological games and expectations that exist in this type of regular interactions with cops. That may actually be the crazier part. 

There's got to be a way to do traffic control that's less stressful to the person who has committed an infraction (ETA: ...and less stressful for the cop). And without these psychological-power-play games with random-leniency outcomes. Right?

Here's what my dad, a Carson Drew type, said when I got a speeding ticket: When you exercise the privilege of driving a car, you assume the responsibility of obeying laws governing the speed limit and being in possession of proper documentation, even when nobody's looking. When you are pulled over for cause, you are in police custody. 

That's not a power dance, it's the contract you sign to be able to drive and live in a community where schoolchildren are in reduced danger of being mowed down by motorists who are in a hurry. You might argue that nobody should be granted leniency, even with a PBA sticker or an officer of the court badge. I would agree. But acknowledging guilt, apologizing, and then trying to wiggle out of a ticket just strikes me as hypocritical.

dano said:

How hard is it to make sure you have proper insurance cards in your vehicle.

Despite my best efforts, I forget to clip the new card from the last page of the insurance packet and put it in the car maybe two out of every three years.

I’ve probably driven as fast as 37 in a 25 m.p.h. zone at least once, even with a kid in tow. 

I’ve definitely said things I’ve regretted, and otherwise acted less than adult-like, in stressful situations.

This might be a good time to promise I’ll never seek to serve the community as a member of the BOE.

Wow.  Short of being drunk it’s hard to come off much worse than she did.  Calling the chief of police a skinhead to one of his officers just for starters.  She must have had success before bullying people.  Crocodile tears. Check.  Intimidation.  Check.  Asserting privilege.  Check.  Getting out of a ticket.  Not so much.  

The officer was incredibly kind and professional. He seemed genuinely concerned about her well-being. 

I don't see being stopped by the police for a moving violation as a power game at all.  The person being stopped was speeding in an area where car vs pedestrian collisions have occurred.  The driver knew that the stop was legitimate. Yes, the situation can be stressful and embarrassing; but, that is no excuse for acting in a manner that, with another police officer in another set of circumstances, could have escalated matters. 

On the subject of insurance, doesn’t NJ now allow digital cards as proof of coverage? You can show your ID via the insurance app on your phone. 

I'm embarrassed for Ms. Lawson-Muhammad's daughter. 

My wife said she saw the tape on FIOS 1 this morning and it was on CBS radio. I didn't mention it to her.

Ms. Lawson-Muhammad owes Sheena, police chief Kroll, the SOPD, and South Orange an apology. 

Thank goodness for dashboard cams. 

eta - It's on NBC. I'm sure it's on other outlets. 

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-School-Board-Member-Cries-Insults-Curses-Cop-During-Traffic-Stop-South-Orange-Maplewood-District-NJ-482819751.html

Oh, lord. 

You've just got to view these things as transactional. Cops have a job to do; discouraging people from flying down side streets is good public policy. (That said, I'd rather a Maplewood cop sit a little further down the road facing the other way and nail people who ignore the yield sign.) Look, 37 in a 25 isn't the worst thing on earth, but I wouldn't be surprised to get pulled over for it ... and I wouldn't have acted like it was the worst thing in the world if I had been. It happens. If you like to drive a little fast, periodically you're going to pay a little for it. No use getting upset with the guy who writes you your bill when your time comes; think of all the ones who didn't. He's going to be professional about it; you be professional too. Why escalate? It's a traffic ticket. You take care of your business, and you get on your way. (And every once in a while, if you weren't doing anything too bad, and you're cool about it, you might get a break. Take it from this idiot who forgot to renew his registration one year and was allowed to drive home after offering to do it right there on the side of the road via iPhone.) 

She talked herself into a ticket here. Yeah, she would've gotten one anyway on the documentation issue, but starting right off by saying that you're a school board member? As if you're expecting to be told "Oh, I'm sorry your excellency, didn't recognize you, you're doing a great job, get on out of here!?" And launching into all the rest of that? Ugh. 

Sad thing is, she could've turned it into a useful moment for herself, too -- "So I got pulled over the other day, got a ticket just like anyone else would've -- guess we're not as important as we like to think! -- but it got me thinking about the critical work these men and women do, and [how we can work better with them as a district to ensure safe routes to school / how we can be proud of their professionalism and the example they set for our students / how each of us can protect our children by being more cognizant of how we are driving when our kids are walking to and from schools / etc.]" Instead, she's gotten herself into prime time news promos. 

cramer said:
I'm embarrassed for Ms. Lawson-Muhammad's daughter. 
My wife said she saw the tape on FIOS 1 this morning and it was on CBS radio. I didn't mention it to her.
Ms. Lawson-Muhammad owes Sheena, police chief Kroll, the SOPD, and South Orange an apology. 
Thank goodness for dashboard cams. 
eta - It's on NBC. I'm sure it's on other outlets. 
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-School-Board-Member-Cries-Insults-Curses-Cop-During-Traffic-Stop-South-Orange-Maplewood-District-NJ-482819751.html

WCBS prom'ed it during Code Black in the 10;00 hour, teased it at the start of the 11;00 newscast, and ran it near the top of the show, maybe 5 or so minutes in, 

ElizMcCord said:
On the subject of insurance, doesn’t NJ now allow digital cards as proof of coverage? You can show your ID via the insurance app on your phone. 

 Yes, I recall that was enacted a few months ago.

She may get that ticket dismissed.

I thought it was odd that the first story posted on this thread had a hot quote from Walter Fields. Seemed like he may have brought attention to it, I suspected, by calling some of his media contacts from over the years, or maybe they figured “hey, remember that guy? Let’s call him.”

Wrong! Walter got the tape, Walter put it out there, Walter called the press.

https://villagegreennj.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/BPW_Baker_Police-Incident_May-14-2018.pdf

How did Walter know and how did he get the vid? I have no doubt there is nothing illegal about any of it but... DAMN!

I wonder how the video surfaced. Maybe Walter Fields knows since it seems he sent a letter to the BOE contemporaneous with the video becoming public. 

Not just national (I also saw it in the Seattle Times).  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5737697/New-Jersey-school-board-member-accused-trying-manipulate-cop-using-civic-privilege.html

I watched the video.  At first I was sympathetic to her stress...most of us have had the experience of getting a first(?) ticket, rife with embarrassment, upset, etc., as well as knowing that you screwed up.  When you add in a POC's real fears of policing, it is highly stressful, even with a very respectful and professional cop.

But she lost me a little when she called an offer of assistance a "f***ing insult". 

And she lost me totally when she threatened to call his "skinhead chief".  That is a racial slur (and an attack on someone's appearance, FWIW).  If she had said his "bald chief", it would have just been insulting.  

But calling a white guy a skinhead is pretty much akin to calling a POC a gangbanger or a thug. Worse actually, because it is calling him both a criminal and a racist.

Imagine if a non-POC motorist had made threat to call a "gangbanger chief" to complain about a POC police officer... it would rightfully not be tolerated.

If there is a thoughtful, community-building public apology, I might be OK not calling for her resignation, but she has some real fence- and bridge-mending to do here.

-------------------------

And yes, when you choose to get a driver's license, you are committing to obeying the traffic laws, and to dealing with law enforcement if you break them.  It is a commitment.  I don't feel a need to take the traffic stop out of the equation, if we can make all police as respectful and professional as this one was.

If you haven't been a person of color pulled over by a cop, you haven't walked far enough in the other person's moccasins to say how you would feel or react in that situation. 

Made me think of this:

https://youtu.be/PCPQZ1Le6dg

When I entered public service nearly 50 years ago, I was cautioned that in so doing I was placing myself in a fish bowl where my actions had to adhere to a far higher and more visible standard than that applied to the general public.  This remains true today, even more so given the evolution of social media and even more so for elected officials in a position to serve as a roll model for the youth in our community.  Therefore, while I agree with above posters who write that the dash cam video going viral seems to be an over-reaction, given the media saturation in our community, I can see how it happened.

I am not sure that this incident is grounds for resignation or dismissal.  I do know that if the subject of this video wants to retain the trust of the community and remain effective as a member of the school board, there is a lot she needs to do to restore the faith the community has placed in her ability to participate in setting policy for the school board in a manner that recognizes the needs of the entire school population.