The Anchorage Police Department is investigating after a woman claimed she was able to get out of a traffic ticket by flashing officers a novelty “White Privilege card.”
Mimi Israelah shared a video and selfie to Facebook and wrote in the caption that she was driving to a restaurant in the Alaskan city last week when she was pulled over by police, reports the Anchorage Daily News.
In the post — which has since been deleted, but screenshots and video are still circulating on social media — she claimed she was pulled over for weaving at 3:43 a.m. after arriving on an early morning flight from California for the rally Saturday to support a local Republican candidate backed by Donald Trump.
“Officer Bo” asked for her driver’s licence but she couldn’t find it, she wrote on Facebook.
“When I saw my White Privilege card, I gave to him if it’s ok,” she wrote. “He laughed and called his partner. It’s their first time to see a White Privileged (sic) card.”
The top of the novelty card reads: “White Privilege Card Trumps Everything.”
Per the Anchorage Daily News, Israelah also shared a photo of her posing with the officer, the card on full display.
In her Twitter biography, Israelah describes herself as Pinay, or a woman of Filipino origin.
Comments displayed at the end of the video showed someone asking whether the officer issued her a ticket, and Israelah responded, “nope.”
It is not clear if disciplinary action will be taken against the officers involved or if a citation was actually issued to Israelah.
“Per the municipal attorney’s office we are unable to answer these questions as the incident is currently under investigation and it relates to personnel matters,” Anchorage police spokesperson Sunny Guerin said in an email to The Associated Press.
Police Chief Michael Kerle on Tuesday posted a message on the department’s Facebook page.
“Our mission is to protect and serve our community in the most professional and compassionate manner possible,” he wrote. “Our vision is to create an environment where everyone matters.”
Celeste Hodge Growden, president of the Alaska Black Caucus, an advocacy group for Black people and Indigenous people of colour, said: “When you’re not able to recognize Black lives, you just don’t get to all lives.”
Hodge Growden said she was disappointed by the picture. She also wants to know what the consequences were for Israelah if she didn’t have her driver’s licence and was weaving while driving.
“I know that there are people of colour that weave and they get ticketed,” she said. “They don’t have that white privilege, get-out-of-a-citation card.”
Anchorage police Sgt. Jeremy Conkling, president of the Anchorage police union, said the officers involved have been served with a notice of investigation.
Conkling told the Anchorage Daily News he knew little about the situation and couldn’t say how many officers were being investigated.
— With files from The Associated Press
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