We’re pulling you over because you were wearing your seatbelt….
May 19, 2007
Tonight [censored] and I were going to a friend’s house. To get there we pass a police station. So tonight I was driving along with my lights on at the speed limit, and [censored] and I both were wearing our seatbelts. The area in front of the police station is marked off with white lines so that when the traffic light turns red nobody stops in front of the station (presumably so that the cops can get out any time they want).
The light in front of the station turned red, and I stopped exactly where I was supposed to. Then three cops step out into the road and one is waving his hand directing me into the police parking lot. I looked at him and pointed at myself to ask him if he really wanted me and he kept waving telling me to pull over. So I did, and another police officer directed me into a parking space. My window doesn’t roll down, so I opened the door and this young cop says something in gibberish. I said, “What?” And he repeated himself a little more clearly. He was telling me that they pulled me over because “the seatbelt was not fastened” (in Japanese you do not need a subject in the sentence). So I said, “What? Whose?” So he kind of stuttered and said, “Wait here.” He talked to the other guys, and he came back and said, “It was dark, so we thought you didn’t have your seatbelt on. You had it on when you pulled in, though, so I guess you were wearing it.”
I figured he would let me go then, since I had done absolutely nothing wrong, but no, he says, “Let me see your drivers license.” So I sighed and showed him my license. There are literally about six words written on it, so I don’t know why he had to stare at it for a full 30 seconds before giving it back to me. When he was satisfied that everything was in order he said, “Okay, drive safely.” I was expecting an apology but none was offered. I wanted to complain, but I was worried they might slap some false charge on me. Man, that was frustrating.
Did they really pull me over because they thought I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt, or was it because I was white? I don’t know. Just another one of those experiences that I’ll have to wonder about.
