MSNBC’s Joy Reid is urging police officers to stop pulling over drivers for minor traffic infractions to give them turkeys for holiday dinners, suggesting it is “traumatizing” because of the “history of what happens to us in traffic stops.”
On Friday, Reid shared a link to the story and wrote, “Please stop doing this, officers, especially to Black people. It’s traumatizing, given the history of what happens to us in traffic stops.”
“And if someone is driving a car (in one of these cases to COSTCO, which requires a membership fee) they can buy a turkey. End of TED Talk,” she added.
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1464289927231950848
Reid’s comments made an apparent reference to incidents of Black drivers being fatally shot by police officers during traffic stops.
As The New York Times reports, “Over the past five years, a New York Times investigation found, police officers have killed more than 400 drivers or passengers who were not wielding a gun or a knife, or under pursuit for a violent crime — a rate of more than one a week.
“Many stops began with common traffic violations like broken taillights or running a red light; relative to the population, Black drivers were overrepresented among those killed,” it added.
Law enforcement officials in several cities across the country have made headlines for pulling over drivers for minor traffic violations and surprising motorists with frozen turkeys instead of tickets.
Fox 10 in Phoenix, Arizona, reported that officers in Mesa were surprising drivers with turkeys.
One motorist said, “I think it’s a nice gesture. I was totally surprised.”
According to Officer Jason Flam, some became emotional, and another said they were headed to Costco to buy a turkey but, “This saved me a few bucks.”
According to Fox 10, “The Turkeys not Tickets program was proposed by a Mesa police commander. It’s another way to connect with the community.”