Edmontonian Kurt Thomas was so concerned about what was happening to black men in the United States, that when he was pulled over by a police officer, he recorded the interaction. What happened surprised even him.
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Thomas posted the video on Facebook. As of Saturday afternoon, it had been viewed nearly 10,000 times.
Watch below: In the wake of recent police shootings in the U.S. that have renewed debate over race relations in America, a black Edmontonian recently posted his positive experience with a police officer to social media.
“So I just got pulled over for speeding,” Thomas says in the video.
“I’m going to keep this video going. Right now he’s got my licence, my insurance and my registration. I think he’s processing it. I just don’t want to be another statistic.”
Thomas said he felt the recording was his only way of protecting himself if a ticket for speeding in a construction zone on Whitemud Drive escalated into something more serious.
“I always feel tension when it comes to police officers,” he said. “I fit the demographic of the people I think receive the most difficult time with law enforcement.”
Thomas said even when he was a child, he felt officers were suspicious of him, even when all he was doing was playing basketball.
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Less than a minute into the video, something unexpected happened. The interaction went as follows:
THOMAS: “Hi officer, how are you?”
OFFICER: “I’ve got a question for you. How do you like this car, other than right now?”
THOMAS: “What do you mean?”
OFFICER: “How do you like it? I’ve seen it around but I don’t know anyone that owns one, I just wondered how they are.”
THOMAS: “To be honest, it’s a great vehicle.”
The pair continued to talk about their shared passion for cars for a minute – then – before leaving, the officer had one last thing to add.
“We’ve just had too many people in big crashes this year so you’ve got to slow down,” the officer says in the video. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
It was the last thing Thomas expected to hear. He drove away with a speeding ticket in hand.
“I’m not even mad! I’ll pay it!” he said.
Ten minutes later, Thomas reflected on the incident in another video he posted to Facebook.
Watch below: In the wake of recent police shootings in the U.S. that have renewed debate over race relations in America, a black Edmontonian recently posted his positive experience with a police officer to social media and then later talked about it in a separate post.
“That is how a police officer is supposed to do their job. I’m telling you man, God works in mysterious ways. These last 72 hours, I completely lost all my faith in police.”
But in the span of just a few minutes and one traffic stop, an officer gave him a fresh perspective.
“I believe that this guy did his job at a high level. He conducted himself with a high level of class, courtesy, respect and professionalism,” Thomas said.
“He deserves a raise, he needs a promo. He deserves something!”
Acting Edmonton Police Chief Tony Harder said officers undergo sensitivity training as part of the community policing initiative.
“Our training is very high with our members in terms of the different groups. Making sure we understand them. Especially now, with so many new people coming into the country with different backgrounds and different understandings of the police.”
Harder added things are different here compared to the United States.
“Our policemen are not expecting to find a firearm at every call or in most interactions – which really is the case in the United States, especially in some states with open carrying,” Harder said. “So it’s a completely different environment with firearms here.”
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Thomas agreed.
“I’m blessed to live here. I love the fact that my mom moved to a country where we’d rather shoot pucks than people.”
As for his interaction, Thomas said he hopes other police officers follow the example of the one he encountered on the Whitemud.
“This is by far the best experience I’ve ever had interacting directly with police and that’s why I felt – especially in the wake of everything happening in the world right now – I had to say something,” he said.
“He’s going to go home happy to his wife and kids. I’m going to go home happy and alive! Everybody wins!”
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