Stop and Frisk
The night was calm in Los Angeles, although the wind was particularly chilly. Frank had gotten out of work in Downtown Los Angeles around 11 p.m. He got his sweater, put his headphones on to listen to music, and put his backpack on. Frank liked taking his backpack to work, because he could take a change of clothes to work, so that he didn’t have to wear his uniform after he got out. In order to get to his house, Frank had to take a bus and a train, but he didn’t mind because he could listen to music.
After getting off the train, Frank got something to eat at a little restaurant that stayed open late and served hamburgers. After eating, Frank still had to walk for 30 minutes. While Frank was walking through a small street with a lot of homes, he noticed there was a car behind him following him slowly. He looked back and noticed it was a police car. He didn’t mind because he wasn’t doing anything illegal, so he kept walking.
As Frank was about to get home, the police car turned on the lights and drove directly to where Frank was at. They stopped and got out of the car. The two police officers surrounded Frank. Frank was used to this, and put his hands in the air. The police officers told him to put his hands on the hood, which he did.
As Frank was being searched, he asked the police officers why he was being searched. They ignored him and asked him questions. “Do you have anything illegal on you? Have you been arrested before? Do you have a weapon?” Frank answered “no,” to all of their questions. They put Frank in the back of the police car. Frank asked again, why he was being searched. One officer said, “Because you are walking around the neighborhood with a hooded sweatshirt.” Frank had done nothing wrong, so the police let him go after searching his backpack.
