Florida cops pull over state's only black attorney
It took the police officers a while to register who she really was
Ayala is Florida's first and only black elected state attorney who announced in March that she will not pursue the death penalty.
An African-American state attorney in Florida was pulled over in a traffic stop by cops in a recent incident of discrimination against black Americans.
Aramis Ayala, Florida's first and only black elected state attorney, is no stranger to controversy. The Florida state attorney has recently been facing criticism for her anti-death penalty stance. She announced in March that she will not pursue the death penalty.
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Ayala, however, has come into the spotlight yet again after footage went viral on social media showing how she was stopped by cops on a road without any good reason. The footage which lasts little more than a minute prompted some social media users to suggest racial bias was at play. Ayala and Orlando Police characterised the stop as lawful.
"What agency are you with?" the office asks her. "I'm the state attorney" she responds befittingly to the shock of the police officers.
When asked why she was pulled over, she was told that it was because of her license plate and later that her windows were really dark.
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"The windows are really dark, I don't have a tint measure but that's another reason for the stop," the officer says. The state attorney smiles at them and asks for their business cards while leaving the site.
The Orlando Police Department later issued a statement on the incident. "In regards to the video, which was released by the Orlando Police Department last month, the officers stated the tag did not come back as registered to any vehicle. As you can see in the video, the window tint was dark, and officers would not have been able to tell who, or how many people, were in the vehicle," the agency said.
However, Ayala said she didn’t breach any law and she will look forward to have a meeting with the higher-ups of the agency to talk about the incident.
"To be clear, I violated no laws. The license plate, while confidential was and remains properly registered. The tint was in no way a violation of Florida law," she said.
"Although the traffic stop appears to be consistent with Florida law (my) goal is to have a constructive and mutually respectful relationship between law enforcement and the community," she added. "I look forward to sitting down to have an open dialogue with the Chief of Orlando Police Department regarding how this incident impacts that goal."
The article originally appeared on CNN.
Aramis Ayala, Florida's first and only black elected state attorney, is no stranger to controversy. The Florida state attorney has recently been facing criticism for her anti-death penalty stance. She announced in March that she will not pursue the death penalty.
Former Israeli Prime Minister freed from prison after parole in graft case
https://youtu.be/VVxlafdB02c
Ayala, however, has come into the spotlight yet again after footage went viral on social media showing how she was stopped by cops on a road without any good reason. The footage which lasts little more than a minute prompted some social media users to suggest racial bias was at play. Ayala and Orlando Police characterised the stop as lawful.
"What agency are you with?" the office asks her. "I'm the state attorney" she responds befittingly to the shock of the police officers.
When asked why she was pulled over, she was told that it was because of her license plate and later that her windows were really dark.
The journey of a ‘fugitive’ from Wall Street to Khayaban-e-Shahbaz
"The windows are really dark, I don't have a tint measure but that's another reason for the stop," the officer says. The state attorney smiles at them and asks for their business cards while leaving the site.
The Orlando Police Department later issued a statement on the incident. "In regards to the video, which was released by the Orlando Police Department last month, the officers stated the tag did not come back as registered to any vehicle. As you can see in the video, the window tint was dark, and officers would not have been able to tell who, or how many people, were in the vehicle," the agency said.
However, Ayala said she didn’t breach any law and she will look forward to have a meeting with the higher-ups of the agency to talk about the incident.
"To be clear, I violated no laws. The license plate, while confidential was and remains properly registered. The tint was in no way a violation of Florida law," she said.
"Although the traffic stop appears to be consistent with Florida law (my) goal is to have a constructive and mutually respectful relationship between law enforcement and the community," she added. "I look forward to sitting down to have an open dialogue with the Chief of Orlando Police Department regarding how this incident impacts that goal."
The article originally appeared on CNN.