Lieutenant advises students on how win 'bad cop' battle

04/15/09 - "Check your attitude," Lt. Charles P. Wilson, chair of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, said during his lecture last night. He had the audience repeat those words after him, noting attitude is everything when dealing with the police after getting pulled over."Actions during police interactions can put you into a trick bag," he added, laughing.

Wilson presented a lecture last night entitled "What to Do When Being Stopped by the Police," alongside the University of Rhode Island Police.

During his presentation, Wilson emphasized the importance of better educating "people in communication as well as law enforcement to these issues that have an impact on civilian and enforcement interaction."

He described how the way civilians react to officers during traffic stops really influences whether one goes to jail, gets a ticket or just gets a warning.

"In 38 years, 90 percent of people I have put in jail talked their way into it," he said.

Wilson has been giving the "What to do when stopped by police" lecture to impoverished communities for more than 20 years.

Many of the topics Wilson discussed also included "bad cops," racial profiling and knowing one's rights.

Wilson said racial profiling would never stop, citing a study from Northeastern University concerning the ratio of white to minority groups involved in traffic violations. He said the research states police pull over members of minority groups more often than white drivers. Statistically, more white citizens pulled over are found with contraband than minority drivers, according to Wilson.

He added racial profiling goes both ways against all races and ethnicities. Wilson referred to racial profiling police officers as "the bad cops."

"Bad cops go out of their way to find a reason to arrest you," Wilson said.

But, he said, it is the way one reacts to "the bad cops" that will determine one's fate. Watching one's attitude, maintaining dignity and being respectful to the officer are all ways, "not to get your ass kicked on your way out the door," Wilson said.

Junior Alfred Saa said he thinks he gets pulled over sometimes because he is black, but always remains courteous and polite.

"Because of the way that I react to the cop, I never get a ticket," Saa said.

Knowing one's rights and the laws also have a big impact on your outcome according to Wilson. Probable cause is why all police officers pull people over. Since probable cause is very hard to prove, prevention is present in the audio video cameras residing in all patrol vehicles.

Wilson said these cameras would stop bad cops from abusing the public and protect the cops from abusive civilians.

A common phrase throughout the PowerPoint shown was "common sense is being stupid because you know how."

"If the speed limit sign says 25 [mph] and you are boogeying down the road at 50 [mph] you know you are breaking the law," Wilson explained the saying.

In 2007, 57 police officers were killed in action and 59,201 were assaulted while on duty in the United States.

URI Campus Police Maj. Stephen Baker said the knowledge dispersed during the presentation is important for officers and students to learn. He also said attitude has been a factor on campus.

"A lot of our stops have to do with attitude," Baker said. "To do our job better is to educate the community on this matter.