Photo: Harry Wedzinga / iStock / Getty Images
Virginia cops falsely accused a Black driver of conducting a drug deal after he agreed to give a man a ride.
Video shared on YouTube shows the driver being detained by two white police officers in Norfolk, Virginia while he was giving the man a ride home.
The driver had picked up food from Ziggy's restaurant when two people, one of whom was a restaurant worker, asked him for a ride. The man agreed to give the pair a ride after they offered him $10 for gas. However, unknowingly to the driver, police were watching the money exchange and believed it was a drug deal.
The officers pulled the car over and questioned the driver and passengers about the exchange, video shows.
“How ya’ll know each other?” one officer asked, to which the driver responded, “We’re not doing anything. You’re literally wasting your time.”
“You gave him something, and he put it in his left pocket," the cop said.
“You want to go in my left pocket? Go ahead," the driver responded.
One officer ordered the driver out of the car, citing Pennsylvania v. Mimms, a 1977 Supreme Court ruling that allows police to do so during a stop.
“Why would I have to?” the driver asked, to which the cop said, “Because that’s the case law.”
“What are you investigating?” the driver questioned.
“Reasonable suspicion that you guys did an exchange," police responded.
The officer threatened to remove the driver by force unless he stepped out of the vehicle.
"I don’t have anything on me. You’re literally wasting your time," the driver said as he complied.
Upon a search, police found no drugs or contraband. The passengers confirmed that they gave the driver $10 for a ride, which he put in his pocket. The officers eventually allowed the group to drive off without charges.
“Being a good Samaritan will get you harassed by police officers," one commenter observed.
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