Driving while Black remains a crime in the U.S., just like walking while Black, sitting in a library or Starbucks while Black, buying candy or cigarettes while Black, and basically just living while Black. So when a police officer in Florida stopped a Black driver Monday and casually said, “This is how you guys get killed,” that was a threat. Plain and simple.
On June 15, an unnamed white Miami-Dade police officer on a motorcycle stopped Gerardson Nicolas around 9:00 AM for not wearing a seat belt.
Nicolas, 29, who was on his way to work, told NBC Miami, that the officer asked for his driver’s license, insurance, and the car’s registration, but when the officer opened his car door, Nicolas began recording the incident with his cell phone.
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As he scrambled to find the documents, Nicolas told the officer he was on his way to work, but the impatient officer became enraged.
“Give me your driver’s license, registration, and insurance. If not, you will not be going to work today. Simple thing, man. … This is how you guys get killed out here, man,” the cop said, according to a video posted on TikTok.
Nicolas says the stop shook him to his core.
"I was scared, I was scared. I didn’t think my life was going to make it," he told NBC 6 on Monday.
The officer is under investigation and has been placed on administrative desk duty, according to The Washington Post.
“Rest assured we are committed to transparency and community trust, and will address all matters of public concern equitably, fairly, and in accordance with applicable laws,” a statement from Miami-Dade Police Department Interim Director George A. Perez read in part.
Per The Root, the police union denies the stop was racially motivated and insists that the officer was referring to Nicolas not wearing a seat belt.
In an extensive report from the Post, over 1,000 Americans have been shot and killed by police in the past year, and, unsurprisingly, Black Americans are killed by police at a disproportionate rate.
Nicolas says he “can’t sleep,” and “can’t stop thinking about” the incident.
“I just want it to stop, because sometimes I feel the way they treat us, they feel like we nothing,” he said.