The Literacy Review - Gallatin School of Individualized Study - New ...

Police Harassment
Glenmore Miller
96 Teaching
I was coming from work when I decided to visit my friends, Jeremy and Dwayne. We
left to go to the music store that was a few blocks away. When we almost got there, a
police car drove up. There were two cops in the car. They came out and stopped us.
One of the policemen asked Jeremy what he had in his pocket because it looked very
fat. He told them it was his wallet. They looked at each other and went up to him. I was
afraid. They asked him for his I.D. and his address, and he gave it to them. They pushed
him on the car bonnet, spread his legs and arms and searched his pockets. They patted
him down. They searched every pocket in his wallet. They searched everything he had.
They found nothing illegal, so they gave him back his stuff.
Then they started looking at Dwayne and me. I was nervous. I had some money in
my pocket, and I didn’t know if they would take it. I was also afraid that I might be
accidentally shot, so I stood very still, barely breathing. They got into the police car
and burst out laughing because I looked so scared that I was shaking. Then they drove
away.
I think that was police harassment because there was no reason for them to stop and
search us. We were not acting up or doing anything illegal. I think the police should go
and look for real criminals and stop harassing decent citizens.
Born in Jamaica, 23-year-old Glenmore Miller studies at the New York Public Library’s Wakefield
Center for Reading and Writing. Charmain Haynes is the literacy assistant, and the site advisor
is Sherlette Lee.