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Newton professor says he was cited for driving while black even though he wasn't even driving

Jabari Asim, a professor at Emerson College, is contesting a traffic ticket he got despite receipts and statements he has showing he was on the Emerson campus while allegedly violating the law in Newton.

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Comments

this gets to court where discovery will be fun for professor Asim and not so much for the Newton PD.

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This cop's disdain for the public when confronted is a great time for cops to back up statements they make like "there are bad cops but most are good" IF they all criticize him and push for him to be fired.

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... that the cop doesn't even show up in court?

That way, he can't be caught lying in court, and can still play the "I don't have to admit that I'm an assbabboon unworthy of uniform" game, too.

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Any chance fake plates were involved?

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The cop saw a black person driving, and ran the plate. Saw that the vehicle was registered to someone with an expired license, and issued a citation to the house.

The problem with this is the same problem with red light cameras in Massachusetts: the registered owner is not always the driver. In this case, the driver was his wife (with a receipt stamped for another place at the time of the driving while black, which is interesting ....), as the professor has more than ample evidence on his phone GPS and Charlie Card that he was at work at the time.

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imaginary, Black person was involved.

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I'm sure the whole thing was captured by the officer's body cam.

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Assuming this ticket was issued in error (as it appears it was), I hope Asim follows the dismissal with a civil suit against this officer and the City. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only language they understand, as evidenced by the unprofessional response to Asim's attempt to resolve this informally.

Maybe a big settlement will get the taxpayers to demand some reform from their police department.

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what world do you live in that a big settlement would ever come of this

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Based on the information in the article, he doesn't seem to have suffered much financial damage. But technically I didn't opine on the likely dollar amount of a settlement.

Given the embarrassment the City is going to face over this, I think some real change could come out of it.

I'm not delusional, but hopeful.

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you called it a big settlement.

please don't treat me like a fool and try to back pedal out of this

i literally used the same term you did and you managed to find fault in it.

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I should have used the subjunctive tense. You got me. But I think it's pretty clear that I was not saying there would definitely be a big settlement.

I do not need to treat you like a fool. You are doing that all on your own.

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now we enter the province of those that feel they have something to prove.

also i never said you claimed there would definitely be a big settlement- my point is that i view it as an impossibility.

literally folly to entertain the notion.

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You sound like a wonderful person who brings joy to all those around you.

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That word, "error". I think you use it quite wrongly.

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The cop definitely issued a ticket in error, and has no evidence to back it up, while Asim has plenty of strong evidence for his side of the story.

Maybe the cop is racist. But that would be harder to prove. I've heard of plenty of white people getting similar tickets in the mail as well.

I'd like the state to put a stop to these tickets in the mail. That would solve this particular problem for people of all races.

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The officer ran the registration and found that the vehicle was owned by Asim, whose license came up “denied/non-renewable.” -- The Boston Globe

That's quite a difference from what the professor wrote on his own blog, that his license was merely expired. Someone with a mere expired license can walk into any RMV branch and renew it. The professor tried this, wanting a driver's license despite having given up driving. He was denied due to a history of non-compliance to the traffic laws in another state. First, a traffic violation and second, ignoring the requirement to pay the fine in a timely manner. The race issue is a non-starter. Police legally can and will query license plates for any reason or no reason at all. The police station is not the place to adjudicate a traffic summons. The officer needn't even speak to the man but kindly did. He was right to tell him he would see him in court. The professor's claim that the officer "grunted" seems to only further the racism claim.

Lastly, it strains credulity to believe that in an age when police/race relations are under extreme scrutiny, that any officer, especially in a city where a black mayor is the appointing authority, would jeopardize his career by fabricating this case out of thin air. It's an amazing coincidence that this alleged "injustice" happened to someone who has written extensively on police racism toward blacks. The only thing certain in this case is that the pre-court publicity in the current climate ensures the professor will be cleared.

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He put his iPhone on a pigeon so that he'd have an alibi for a traffic ticket if he happened to get wrung up by a cop who didn't even stop him but just noted his plates? Good thing he also found a pigeon that knows how to scan a CharlieCard too.

Why didn't this cop get off his ass and pull the guy over? This whole thing would be a non-starter if he hadn't half-assed it and mailed the ticket to him. He could have loaned the car to a friend whom he doesn't want to give up as the driver for all I care. This cop missed his chance to give out a ticket and decided to do it later. How many white people in Newton get mailed a ticket in this situation instead of the cop just figuring "ah well, I'll catch the next one...".

Red light and speed cameras are illegal..but photographic police memories to be looked up online at a later date and compared to the glimpse of the driver as to whom gets the citation are all the rage? What a load of horseshit. I hope this goes to court and goes up the ladder enough to knock this shit off for all of us. You want to write a ticket? Stop the driver and do it right.

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apologize and invite the cop over for a beer.

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You want to write a ticket? Stop the driver and do it right.

First, I always like to hear the other side before making judgement. Always. Since the NPD is silent, I have no choice.

So, the cop sees a car, looks up the plate for some reason (there was no moving violation that we know of), and decides to write a ticket for really no reason? That's weak.

Like Kaz said, if you can't go to the effort of actually stopping someone and getting their info, forget it.

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With respect to the pulling over stuff -

I was stopped on I-290 in Worcester about a decade ago. Trooper comes up to the window (passenger side - smart move, given the road configuration), and asks me if I know why I was stopped.

I say no.

Trooper asks for my license and registration.

I provide it.

Trooper goes back to cruiser, comes back quickly and says, "I have to go to an accident, you'll hear from me in the mail."

As promised, a bright shiny Massachusetts Uniform Citation arrives in the mail a week later, alleging that I was doing "65+" in a 50 zone (I don't remember the speed limit, but I do remember the "65+"). [Any of you familiar with this stretch of road are laughing now, because you realize that I was being passed by many other motorists].

I appeal, asking, among other things, how a fine can be calculated when an actual speed was not determined. Clerk responds "that's the Trooper doing you a favor" and upholds the citation, but adjusts the fine to the minimum. I thought about further appeal, but I was at a point in my life where that was not going to do anything good for me.

So I guess that there's little relevance to the story except for that this is not the first time I have heard of someone either not being stopped and receiving a ticket in the mail, or being stopped, not being told why, and receiving a ticket in the mail.

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I received a ticket via mail for an expired inspection sticker once. It even named the location where the vehicle was observed. We deduced it was observed by the officer while he was moving because of the location listed on the ticket. We knew it was him for reasons I can't remember now. So, even though I wasn't driving, I had the joy of receiving this ticket because the car was in my name. You can bet I was a little more than peeved!

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that one seems pretty avoidable on the part of any owner

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Not supposed to have an uninspected vehicle on the street, even if you aren't driving it.

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Doesn't matter who is driving in that case.

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his point was even that if it was parked in the street, say, even in front of his house

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My point was irritation at the other owner - my husband - joint care of the vehicle. Unfortunately for me only my name was listed as owner.

I wasn't looking for an out, I just wish one of us had been paying attention.

But the ultimate point was the driver wasn't stopped but rather the infraction sent via mail. You know, the topic of noting other instances when this has happened.

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I'm a local cop and you sold me, sir. I would write and mail warning citations to people when they had busted brake lights so that 1) another officer wouldn't stop them and cite them with money fees, 2) they probably didn't realize it was broken and they could get it fixed and 3) it was a minuscule infraction and there really wasn't a need to stop unless you had an egregious criminal record.

But from now on, I'll "do it right", get "off my ass" and pull people over. For everything. They will get money citations, no warnings. And I'll see them in court. Thanks to people like you!

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About time some of these maniacs faced consequences for their crappy driving!

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yeah you're a real big credit to your department with that attitude. pick another line of work if you're so thin skinned, you doughnut gobbling porcine menace

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...but didn't you just write the following to another poster in this very thread?

ahh personal insults

now we enter the province of those that feel they have something to prove.

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Because you really want someone with a busted tail light to drive around for a week without knowing it.

Ever hear of a warning? In person?

Or would you have to put your donut down for that?

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I'll not comment on your obvious attitude issues, but please consider this: 1) another officer will quite reasonably be MORE likely to cite a driver for a broken tail light in a few days' time, since they'll assume the driver has already received a warning yet taken no action. 2) a driver with a broken tail light probably NEEDS to be alerted to the problem in a rather more timely fashion than by snail mail to the registered owner of the vehicle, since this is, after all, only a citable offense because it presents a potential SAFETY HAZARD. 3) Hassling a driver for a miniscule problem- if that's how you see it- hardly seems more appropriate for those with "egregious criminal records" who have presumably served their sentences and ought not have further extra-judicial punishment meted out by every officer they encounter. And did my dog just hear a rather high-pitched whistle? You're more likely to stop people for small issues if you perceive them to be trouble-makers somehow? I see. Do you have any tips as to how we civilians might identify these individuals at first glance, hmm?

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How do you know if they have an egregious criminal record? What if the car is stolen? Why can't you stop them and still give a warning? Also, your argument isn't relevant since all you're talking about are mailing out warnings. They mailed this guy a ticket, not a warning. Had it been a warning, then I doubt any of this would be in discussion. So, yeah, if you're going to mail a violation and not a warning, get off your ass and stop the driver or don't bother.

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I have had my registration show up as denied/nonrenewable when some computer in Andover suddenly reported an unpaid parking ticket from 5 years ago to the RMV. You are painting a pretty grim picture with your assumption of "history of non compliance with traffic laws"

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I don't get a lot of parking tickets, but it's certainly happened that one got lost in the shuffle...or an excise tax bill, that will do the same thing. Yes, I'm a major criminal and threat to society because I'm clearly trying to avoid a $10 parking ticket or the minuscule excise tax on my old car. Ya think? I'd bet that's what "non-renewable" means 99% of the time; the registry won't let you do anything if you owe for a parking ticket or excise tax.

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It means you received a citation that you didn't pay/appeal. Parking tickets go to the registration only (or the owner of the car), it has nothing to do with someones license.

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Unpaid parking tickets do affect your license.

https://www.massrmv.com/rmv/license/10renew.htm

"If you have any outstanding parking, excise or abandoned vehicle tickets, you must obtain releases from the city or town concerned in order to renew your license."

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But the RMV system does not hold your license non renewable if you don't pay parking tickets, only registrations.

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Period.

I bet you have a car registered in your name, but I sure as hell pray to God that you aren't driving! Not with all the brain cells you are missing!

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He got one out-of-state ticket, which he later paid.

The officer was not kind.

Police don't jeopardize their careers when they fudge the facts, or even outright lie, on a traffic ticket.

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It takes a special kind of douchebaggery to play the victim card for an officer who has obviously, demonstrably, idiotically gotten caught being a racist dickbag abusing his badge. Hear that music? That's me, playing the world's smallest violin, for the poor misunderstood police departments that are suddenly being held accountable in the court of public opinion (though not that ACTUAL courts, mind you) for their longstanding abuse of minorities . Not that I'm the faintest bit surprised, of course... FISH is the sort of gentleman who would be defending the police if one of their number was caught on video in a Klansman hood. But thanks for reminding us why no one in their right mind pays you the slightest bit of attention, you irascible racist police apologist, you.

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" The officer needn't even speak to the man but kindly did. He was right to tell him he would see him in court."

Oh, so police officers, who work for us, are doing people a favor when they respond to a question from a citizen?

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Since the professor requested a hearing, (which he did not have to do as all criminal charges that don't stem an arrest are automatically given a hearing) it will be in front of a clerk magistrate. Since it is only a probable cause hearing, the officer requesting the issuance of the charges will not likely be there (this is normally the case unless it is a serious charge). It is normally handled by an officer assigned to the court full time.

However since there is an identity dispute is this one, hopefully the clerk will summons in the officer so he can be properly embarrassed if he is wrong.

if what I read is correct the chief would be wise in making the officer go anyways to do some bowing and scraping.

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You can request (and pay the fee for) a second traffic ticket hearing, which is slightly less silly than the first, and the actual cop is supposed to attend.

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Unless you are guilty, and have to pay court costs. This is a criminal complaint, not a traffic ticket (civil fine appeal).

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Why in the world hasn't that police officer's name been shared, given the nature of the well-supported allegations against him? Surely such fraudulent behavior as Professor Asim describes would merit some sort of criminal penalty, rather than merely civil liability? Perhaps those who know the officer personally could share information on his background. Did he simply have an issue with this particular black couple living in his area, or might this be part of a pattern of behavior? I would have hoped that the more responsible officers on the force would have been quicker to distance themselves from such an abuse of authority as appears to have been committed here.

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of Newton for some time now, i've had to deal with the police here. I had a mentally handicapped neighbor (different story) where the police were often called to my building.

But I can tell you that almost the entire force of Newton PD is a good ol' boys club, guys who grew up in the shadow of the wealth of Newtonites, most of them reside in the lake (nonantum) and I've had to deal with them, frankly, not giving a hoot about my problems.

i wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if this is just an act of misguided revenge.

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Concern for people living in two family houses has never been a hallmark of the Newton PD.

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Spent most of the past 17 years in Newton, I'm as surprised as you are. I haven't had to deal with the police much but this is a peaceful town, not somewhere that racial tensions run high. What were we, the first city to have a black mayor in a state with a black governor while we had a black president in this country?

I suppose if anything it's a product of how homogeneous Newton is. As a minority, there are definitely very worse places to be, but sometimes it does get pretty clear that this is a predominantly white place. Not that it'd justify this one bit, nor do I see anything that necessarily means this was definitely a race-based case...

It'd certainly be pretty misguided to say that Newton PD is full of racist thugs.

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you wouldn't have the grief when interacting with police. Clearly you look on them as your inferiors, even though you demonstrably need them. Do you expect them under such circumstances to kiss your ass? They don't have to.

And cops around these parts don't make a working class salary you know. They make a better salary and benefits than many people in Newton.

Newton people already have a bad reputation among many for being arrogant snobs. You didn't help matters with your post, looking down your nose at people from a lower socioeconomic neighborhood.

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And cops around these parts don't make a working class salary you know. They make a better salary and benefits than many people in Newton.

Then, as this poster has noted, they should be doing their fucking jobs for everyone and not just those South of Route Nine.

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You can run a red light while texting on a cell phone in either hand while dragging a bike from your bumper and not get pulled over, and this guy gets a ticket for a car he wasn't even in.

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I recall a story some years back in Boston, where a judge voided all the tickets contested one day, because they were mailed and not presented in person when written.

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city and county

also while your anecdote made me laugh, it sounds like the judge was particularly displeased with the traffic enforcement department that day hahah

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Allegedly, a cop issued a ticket in error, then told this guy he didn't make a mistake, then turned his back on him. Where's the racial hook? Sounds like the cop was either inattentive, dismissive or jerky, but a person can be any of those without being a racist. Jumping from a mistaken traffic citation to the "sadistic treatment of enslaved people in the West Indies" seems like an awful far leap...

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The fact that there was no moving violation involved in looking up the plate.

Not racist? Uh huh.

Come back and tell us more about what isn't racist because you've never experienced it yourself. Meanwhile, nobody needs your permission to call what they live with daily what it really is.

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I've experienced it myself.

Years ago I received a ticket for a parking infraction in a place I could prove I hadn't been that day. I am not a minority.

Sometimes acts like this are racism. Sometimes they are just people acting like jerks to everyone because they have to fill ticket quotas or because they had a bad day or because they're assholes.

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If, by your admission, "[s]ometimes acts like this are racism", why do you assume that this couldn't have been that?

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In the past week I've gotten a bogus parking ticket in the mail (claims I drove away before it could be attached to my windshield, even though it only takes 15 seconds to write a parking ticket), and a written warning for allegedly running a red light. I've never heard of this being a thing - I think we need to contact our state representatives and put an end to ticketing by mail. If a car moves 15 seconds after a meter maid starts writing a ticket, there is no violation - the car is gone. And if a moving violation doesn't warrant being pulled over, I'd argue there's no violation there.

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1. You were illegally parked when the enforcement agent started to write the ticket, hence you broke the law. Not being around when they are finished with the ticket does not mean you didn't park illegally.

2. It was a warning when you ran the light. Thank goodness it wasn't a fine. Stop running lights.

Please learn how to use your car properly.

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Thanks Law & Order Man! Gonna straighten up and fly right! Can't wait for your Marvel live action movie next summer!

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I'm just a guy who can spot bullshit attempts at equivalency a mile away.

This guy got a ticket in the mail because a cop noticed "something odd" in his mannerisms while driving and ran the plate. You ran a red light, endangering others.

This guy got a ticket for driving without a valid license while he was at least 5 miles away from the car in question. You didn't want to wait for the meter maid to finish writing a ticket. What did you do? Handicapped ramp? No stopping zone?

So, you're solution for this guy's injustice is to no longer enforce either parking nor traffic laws, no?

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Opinions for a one sided story. And no, I'm not taking the cops side because it's still a one sided story.

But I love the above eyewitness accounts.

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Just tried it myself and it didn't work.

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A cop or any human being can be mistaken about an eye witness identification, especially if that person is driving a car at a distance.

But this cop got a license plate and put that plate into his laptop. The car is registered to a Newton resident. The cop said the driver was a black male (I assume if the race box was checked off) It would be basically impossible for a cop to make a mistake on a digit from that plate and have it come back to a resident of the town you work in. That makes me think that the cop saw this car. The owner denies that not only that he wasn't driving, but that the vehicle wasn't even in Newton. Unless this cop is a psychopath who has a personal vendetta against this specific individual, how would he even get this plate by mistake?

Racist cops don't mail tickets for BS things like this. Racist cops pull black people over and look for a reason to search the car. The citation history of officers will usually show this.

That being said, mailing a criminal summons for operation without a license is something I've never seen except in special cases. The cop may have been on a detail, or crossing children (Newton cops often have morning and afternoon school traffic posts), so pulling over the car may not have been an option, but then he would have no reason to run the plate either, unless there was another violation, which their may have been.

Either way, that part of the story doesn't add up in my opinion.

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As to how the registry had his photo, if he never had a MA license. It says in the globe article that he was denied because of tickets from another state, but that stuff is usually denied before your photo is taken care of.

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I'd assume the photo from a Massachusetts ID would likewise have been available to the officer.

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implies that he had previously held a valid Mass license.

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I'd assumed the officer saw the wife driving in Newton at 6:15pm, because I over-looked the fact that the Watertown store receipt was time-stamped 6:20pm. Perhaps he'd seen the wife earlier, which possibility makes me wonder what the officer was actually doing at 6:15pm, that he felt the need to cover for.... It could well be that he's struggling with substance abuse issues, for example, and the apparent racism is not the goal, but rather primarily the result of a sloppy attempt to cover that. This is speculation, of course, but I wonder if perhaps all the citations this officer issued during that hour or so were mailed citations.... Something is very fishy.

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The officer wrote down the wrong date on the citation, and saw someone other than this guys wife on the actual date he saw (or thought he saw) a black man driving the car. Or he saw the man's wife and/or didn't get a good look. But this man isn't your typical "all black guys look alike" type of black man (sorry if that sounds bad, I couldn't think of any other way to describe it). This guy is pretty distinguishable with his beard and hair. It would be easier to identify this man, even if you were in another car in traffic. The actual date the cop put this in the computer is going to show up though, so that can be proven easily enough, and the court is going to process the paper work on a specific day as well.

So the professor gets the summons in the mail with a date that he is 100% sure of his and his wife's whereabouts. This puts in his mind that there is no way in hell that this officer saw him driving (if he was driving on another day), on that day in question. His wife was in Watertown, which is close by, so I assume the officer could have seen him.

I've investigated cops for all sorts of misconduct, from drug dealing and domestic abuse, to drinking on duty/drunk driving and other misconducts on the job like not following proper procedure/excessive force/rudeness/ discourtesy, etc, etc. This type of action by this officer does not make much sense in terms of misconduct. If he wanted to cover for some other misconduct, the last thing he would want to do is write some sort of bogus ticket.

Hey, maybe the cop is a nutjob with some ax to grind against this guy. Or maybe it was a mistake and he saw his wife driving. Maybe his wife is having an affair, or maybe the wrong date was on the ticket. Maybe the guy actually was driving, but it would be odd to put it on your public blog if you were driving, and the guy seems pretty credible, even if he has something to gain by lying and getting some publicity.

I'm going to bet the officer wrote down the wrong date, or saw his wife driving.

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Pete, I don't know if anyone's said this before, but your well written insight is appreciated. What you say encourages me to keep reading the comments section when most other commenters, on any given issue, make me want to put my head through the monitor.

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that you seem to honestly believe that in 2015 a police officer who knew the date well enough to report to work might have missed the date in the office/his watch/his phone and that youre perfectly willing to chalk it up to him being inept with a calendar over other possibilities

also, if we take the officer at his word, and he truly thought it was the professor in the car, then you seem to be awfully comfortable with the idea that the professor would drive on a suspended license irrespective of the law.

i dont get it. is it just too convenient for you, conceptually, that the professor might be a law abiding citizen? does it upset you that the guy you'd seemingly prefer to have a casual disregard for the law has proof of his whereabouts for the time in question?

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I've gone into depth about mistakes police officers
make, and how it would be pretty hard, no impossible, to make up the plate to this vehicle. And yes, putting down the wrong date on the citation, or the court complaint is not uncommon. Police officers writing bogus tickets is extremely rare, especially since the officer really has no motive to do so, unless he is a nut job. And yes people drive with expired licenses all the time, although most wouldn't lie about it in a public blog, which makes be believe that the professor is telling the truth.

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The professor and his wife have GPS and receipts to prove their locations.

I'm guessing the time on the ticket is a little off and doesn't reflect exactly when the officer supposedly saw this car. Target is in Watertown, and she probably would have driven through that part of Newton to get there.

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...rather than the date, and the officer probably saw the wife and figured the professor had shaved, but we are still left to wonder at the incredible carelessness of any officer who'd issue that particular criminal citation with zero interaction with the driver. If that doesn't "shock the conscience," then it surely should. That element alone leaves the officer wide-open to accusations of racism, legitimate or not. He's a loose cannon, no matter whose direction he's aimed in. And while the potential influence of racism is naturally of special interest to the professor, the rest of us should at the very least be appalled by the sloppiness and disrespectful attitude of the officer. This is unacceptable, yet all too common. I'd like to take away the gun if not the badge of anyone who'd argue that this was legitimate policing.

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The professor and his wife have GPS and receipts to prove their locations.

The professor and his wife have GPS and receipts that provide evidence in support of their claims about their locations.

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...as the cop's "proof", wouldn't you say? And speaking of proof, let's remember where the burden of it lies.

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It's all "evidence", not "proof". (Yeah, sorry to be a pedant, but lack of clarity around what constitutes proof is a pet peeve.)

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Having had his day in court and shown the evidence of his whereabouts and his wife's use of the car that day, the professor showed that the cop is either incompetent or malicious...but either way, the cop was completely wrong.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/09/09/emerson-profes...

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