On the evening of June 2, 2020, I was arrested, along with my boyfriend, for driving to purchase a pizza. I went on Facebook and Instagram to share my story. Here is my original post from social media:
Honestly, I’m extremely disappointed in LAPD and Mayor Garcetti. This city is messed up. This county is messed up. I was not ”served” or “protected” tonight.
You can be the nicest most respectful person in the world, and officers will still show you that they are not here to “serve and protect” you. They are just “doing their job.”
Tonight, I drove in my car from my house to go pick up a pizza from a restaurant with my bf in LA at around 8:45 pm. Mind you, plenty of other cars are driving around where we were, and we drove past plenty of other people who were driving to pick up food. I even drove past about 2 police cars, so I felt like it was fine and safe to go pick up some food and take it back home. Even at 11pm, when I finally made it back to my house, there were taco stands on the streets of LA that were still open and operating (my point being that this curfew is being targeted towards black people and people protesting for black people).
But then, all of a sudden, at around 9 pm, about 10-15 police officers on motorcycles pull up behind my car at a stop light. They told us to pull over, and eventually to step out the car. I told them I was a law student, but I didn’t tell them I was working at the DA’s office this summer. I told them we were just going to go pick up our pizza and go back home.
As they were collecting my information outside of the car, about 4 officers did a complete search of my vehicle because my violation of the curfew gave them “probable cause.” A large number of other officers were just standing around watching.
I tried to use my phone before I even knew I was arrested, but they said I couldn’t use my phone since I was going to be detained.
I was crying while the police were arresting us, because it was just so unreal to me that we live in a place where it is a crime to go pick up a pizza. It’s sick because these police are only in force right now because people are protesting for black lives. They could have easily just given us a written citation or warning and let us go straight home, but they had to make a point because, in their words, “Mayor Garcetti is taking this curfew very seriously.”
The police arrested us for driving to go pick up our pizza. They impounded my car (which I now have to pay to get back tomorrow). They drove us to the police station downtown and they issued us a citation along with hundreds of protestors that they arrested earlier in the day.
Luckily, a protestor that I met at the police station was able to drive us home. I’m safe, for now.
Luckily I can still breathe, but I can’t sleep. If I was a rich white man driving in a Tesla, I bet you I would not have been arrested tonight. (Side Note: White males should not be offended by that last sentence, which I believe is the truth, and should instead feel the desire to help combat the wrongs in this messed up country.)
This city should be ashamed. There is so much pain that I have been feeling tonight.
Everyone, please be safe out there.
#BlackLivesMatter #DontSilenceUs #LetUsBreathe #LetUsEat #LetUsLive