On an old suburban highway, the police notice a rise in pedestrian fatalities. The problem is obvious. The signal lights with crosswalks are sometimes up to half a mile apart, and people have neither the time, patience, or energy to walk a half mile to a crossing. So, as dangerous as it is, they jaywalk and all too often pay with their life. The police cannot change the traffic signals but they decide to begin enforcing the jaywalking laws on the books.
During this period of increased enforcement, a middle-aged white woman is spotted jaywalking, but she is so slow she gets to the island in the middle and simply cannot find a big enough gap in traffic to cross. So, the police use their flashers to stop traffic and escort the woman to the other side. When she is safely on the sidewalk, they inform her that she was jaywalking, a violation of the law, but they decide her experience was so harrowing they let her go with a warning.
Barely an hour later a black man is observed jaywalking at the very same place on the highway. He, however, is somewhat younger and nimbler, dodging the cars with ease. In this case the police carefully photograph him jaywalking but do not stop or confront him. They follow him, photographing his every move. He goes into a bank where he spends over an hour. After he leaves, one team of detectives goes into the bank and they learn what the man was doing – applying for an FHA loan.
Using the detailed forms that he has just submitted, teams of detective spread out to verify every detail of the application and the man’s life. They pressure several of the man’s friends to wear wires when talking to him and pressure the bank to call the man back in to “clarify” several statements and details on the loan application. The detectives, having put the man’s life and finances under a microscope, tell the banker exactly what questions to ask.
As the black man jauntily leaves the bank convinced the friendly banker got all he needed and he will soon to be moving his family into their new home, the trap is sprung. A heavily armed force of over twenty officers in full riot gear brutally arrest him, shoving him into the back of one of twelve hulking police SUVs. To make matters worse, all the major media outlets seem to already be on the scene photographing the spectacle, humiliating the man, who happens to be a deacon in his church.
Finally, the question is asked: “Did you jaywalk?” “Huh? No!” answers the confused man who has no lawyer present. “Sir, you just lied to a federal officer. We have photographs of you jaywalking two weeks ago,” screams the agent to the handcuffed black man. “Furthermore, we have evidence you committed a federal crime when you lied. We know your estimated assets and income are over five thousand dollars more than you claimed on your application. We are charging you with 27 felony counts of lying to a federal officer and lying on an application for a federally insured loan. You are facing twenty-five years to life in prison.” Totally baffled, the black man shouts “What about my rights?! What gave you the right to launch this witch-hunt?” “You did, sir, when you jaywalked. No one is above the law.”
Photo credit: judgefloro public domain
