Historically, the archives are disturbingly full of examples of police officers over-exercising their rights as officers, abusing their power, and even falsely accusing and arresting citizens. The percentage of incidents that involve people of color or LGBTQ+ individuals speaks volumes.
TikToker Nabihah Ahmad—proud coder, fashionista and social advocate—is no exception.
Allegedly, while riding her bike in the bike lane in the busy streets of New York, she was only carrying a bag that contained yoga clothes and a pair of jeans. While biking, she passed an NYPD patrol car and laughed in their direction before passing them.
Shortly after, there was a large puddle in the bike lane, which she dodged by moving into the first car lane, putting the patrol car, now on the move, behind her. When she moved back into the bike lane, they had put on their sirens, but she assumed they were responding to an emergency.
Several further obstacles came up, including a construction site and a block in traffic, which gave her nowhere to go but to turn onto another street.
Suddenly, a patrol car turned in front of her, forcing her to stop. The officers began to yell at her and demanded that she dismount her bike, which she obliged. Ahmad and two of the officers then had a back-and-forth where they demanded to see her ID, which she had left at home.
At first, they did not believe that she didn't have the ID, but when she could not produce it, they threatened her with having to go to jail. They ended up walking her to the precinct, which was just around the corner, and told her to sit in a chair in the front waiting room.
Along the way, she was not told her rights, she was not offered legal representation, and she was reprimanded for evading a police officer, not producing identification, and rejecting authority.
While telling her powerful story on TikTok, now safely back in her home, Ahmad clearly declared:
"If you are a person of color in New York, it does not matter how educated or successful you are. You will be seen as a threat by the New York Police Department."
You can watch the video here:
Some people were disgusted and urged Ahmad to lawyer up immediately.
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Others were not shy about doxxing the male police officer in the video and reporting his tactics to the NYPD.
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Ahmad's story is not a new one, but it is a telling one. Though police officers should be held with a certain amount of esteem, officers who operate from a place of ego validation tend to be problematic—if not dangerous—to the public they have agreed to serve.
If Ahmad had remained quiet, this would be one more forgotten example of officers not serving their citizens, and it's important that police officers and those of similar roles be held accountable by their citizens.
