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Princeton Professor Imani Perry Releases Statement About Arrest, Police Chief Responds

Perry
Perry

Princeton University Professor Imani Perry on Monday released a statement about her encounter with the Princeton Police, a day after posting tweets about being arrested by officers Saturday for an outstanding warrant for two unpaid parking tickets after she was pulled over for speeding.

Police Chief Nick Sutter also discussed the incident at the Princeton Council meeting Monday night. He did not mention Perry by name. He mentioned details about the incident that are public information under the state’s Open Public Records Act when someone is arrested.

Perry has declined to speak to reporters since the incident occurred. Planet Princeton reached out to her Sunday afternoon and other reporters have tried to interview her over the past two days.

“Yesterday I sent out a few tweets over an encounter with police in Princeton New Jersey. It generated quite a bit of attention. The details are there,” her Monday Facebook statement reads. “Though I have received many queries, I have declined speaking to press thus far. I found a way to share on social media that satisfied my need to speak.”

Perry tweeted Sunday about being pulled over and then arrested for a three-year-old parking ticket. She was not allowed to make a call on her cell phone before she was arrested, was patted down, and was taken to police headquarters, where she said she was handcuffed to a table.

“The response I have received since sharing my story has been overwhelmingly caring and thoughtful,” she wrote. Many people are vigilant and impassioned these days regarding policing. This is a direct result of the social movement that has emerged over the last several years. That is good. And it personally feels wonderful to be so supported. However, there are quite a few people who seem upset that I received support. Mostly they are suggesting that I am playing `innocent’ when I am `guilty.’ What they fail to understand is that I did not purport to be without fault. Now, make no mistake, I do not believe I did anything wrong. But even if I did, my position holds. The police treated me inappropriately and disproportionately. The fact of my blackness is not incidental to this matter.”

Perry wrote that in every profession, people exercise discretion “according to who they favor and who they disfavor, who they believe matters and who they consider inconsequential. And, as my own work and that of many colleagues has established, in this society abundant evidence exists that discretion is exercised, in general, in racially discriminatory fashion in virtually every arena studied from elementary school suspensions, to car purchases, to teachers recommending students for gifted and talented programs, to how often waiters visit your table in restaurants, to mortgages, to police stops and arrests.”

All things being equal, Perry said people in this society consistently disadvantage black people compared to others.

“Some critics have said that I should have expected what I received. But if it is the standard protocol in an affluent suburb to disallow a member of the community to make a call before an arrest (simply to inform someone of her arrest) and if it is the protocol to have male officers to pat down the bodies of women, and if it is the norm to handcuff someone to a table for failing to pay a parking ticket, we have a serious problem with policing in the society,” she wrote.
“If it is not the case that this is the general practice, then I hope everyone reading will consider the possibility that the way I was treated had something to do with my race, and that we have a serious problem with policing in this society particularly with respect to black people.”

Perry said it is the standard protocol for people in poor black, indigenous, and Latino communities to experience disproportionate police surveillance, harassment, violence, and punishment.

“I’m asking you to understand that my experience, and my feelings, are directly and intimately tied to that larger truth. We unquestionably have a serious problem with policing in this society,” she wrote. “This was my first time in handcuffs. They were very cold on my arthritic wrists. I have been thinking about how vulnerable they make you feel. And how some people, often my people, from childhood on experience that naked vulnerability over and over again because they happen to live in places deemed `bad’.”

Perry said some online commentators have told her if she hadn’t done anything wrong, the incident wouldn’t have happened.

“But this demand for behavioral perfection from black people in response to disproportionate policing and punishment is a terrible red herring,” she wrote. “I have lived in predominantly white communities for much of my life, and in those spaces I literally witnessed thousands of illegal acts that went unpunished. Lenience is the rule rather than the exception. I have also seen in those places and spaces that the blacker and poorer you are, the harsher the penalties you face. Lenience is not the rule for them when they are in the minority or the majority.”

Perry went on to say that punishment in this society does not exist in direct correlation to illegal activity.

“What it is correlated to is race and class. And if perfection is not required for white citizenship, it should not be required of mine. Fairness requires something better,” she wrote. “Moreover my quarrel is not with paying a fine, or getting a ticket (even though we know such punishments are also disproportionately meted upon black people who often don’t have the resources to pay them.) I could afford to pay the fine, and I paid it without hesitation.”

Perry said her issue is with how she was treated.

” I cannot ever say definitively that this specific mistreatment was a result of race,” she wrote. “But I can say that what I experienced was far more likely because my skin is a deep brown, my nose is round, and my hair is coily. And given the accumulation of police violence against black people in this society, my fear at being stopped and arrested as a black woman was warranted and even reasonable.”

Perry said the day that I shared my story, she received numerous emails and text messages from undergraduates, graduate students, and residents of Princeton shared stories about experiencing treatment they found unjust from the local police.

“I do not want to isolate the Princeton Police, although I would love for them to respond to this moment with care not simply towards me, but for the entire community they are charged with serving, But in truth, this is not just a local problem. It is a systemic one, one that is also national and international,” she wrote.

“Nor do I want to catastrophize what I experienced. It was humiliating and frightening, but I am not Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, or Tanisha Anderson. I was not murdered. I was not screamed at, roughed up, or held over the weekend, or for weeks, or years. I was not forced into a plea deal that will take me away from my children, or prevent me from working or maintaining my home. I am here. My life has not been ruined or destroyed,” she wrote. “I must admit I am somewhat ashamed that my story will get more attention than those of others who have experienced things far worse that merit our response. But I hope against hope that the attention my story has received, and the fact that many people will give me the benefit of the doubt because of my profession, my small build, my attachment to elite universities, and because prominent people will vouch for my integrity and responsibility, can be converted into something more important. I hope that this circle of attention will be part of a deeper reckoning with how and why police officers behave the way they do, especially towards those of us whose flesh is dark.”

Sutter confirmed at the Princeton Council Monday night that Perry, who was pulled over for allegedly driving at 67 miles per hour in a 45-miles-per-hour zone, was arrested for active warrants from the Princeton municipal court. She was also driving with a suspended Pennsylvania driver’s license. Sutter reviewed the incident and said state law and protocols were followed. Arresting people for outstanding warrants is routine across the state, and arrest warrants are issued by the courts, not the police. The police do not have discretion to arrest someone or not if a court has issued a warrant, he said.

“A lot of the concerns about the incident amount to what I look at as much broader issue, not so much constrained to this specific incident,” Sutter said. “What we’ve learned today through discussions is that there is a perception that it is improper. Regardless of it being 100 percent proper in the eyes of the law, there is a perception because of race. This is a problem for me. It is a problem that is real, and needs to be addressed. Neither I or nor the department is taking a defensive stance on this. There has been a lot of conversation about this. Regardless of how it is legally adjudicated, we have to be extremely sympathetic to this perception.”

Sutter said he thought the police department was doing a very good job in the community addressing perceptions, but that the events of the last few days show that more work needs to be done.

“No matter what the facts are, we need to  listen to perspectives and get better,” he said.  “We’ve learned that there is a mistrust of law enforcement in our country. It is real.”

Sutter said he has referred the incident to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office so that an unbiased third party can review the incident. Sutter said he feels strongly that it would be good to let the public see the video of the arrest and make their own decisions about whether it was right or wrong.

“But it has unintended consequences,” he said. “We have to consider the dignity of the person involved. The last thing I want to do is bring more pressure or scrutiny of person involved.”Sutter added that he welcomes open dialogue on policing issues. “I’m completely open to criticism and critique, and I’m empathetic,” he said. “Hopefully from this incident we will become better as a community.”

Elected officials and the town administrator praised Sutter and the police department. Mayor Liz Lempert said officials should focus on changing state laws regarding how warrants are handled.

“It could be any of us,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like a huge crime. We’ve all been guilty of getting parking tickets, but the response does not seem to match the offense. That is the underlying concern we have. We need to take a look at the state law and use this to make the system better. “

317 Comments

  1. We have a problem in our town. The need to raise revenue through parking and other vehicular tickets puts the police in the difficult position of enforcing these rigid rules. In this case, either the police exhibited racism, or we have a serious problem with arresting people for a three-year old parking ticket. Either way, it’s an issue.

    Perhaps the town council and the mayor could try and address it. The (perceived) issue of police profiling minorities along Nassau Street came up as an issue in the last mayoral campaign. Has there been any progress?

    1. Isn’t putting police in the position of enforcing rules the main reason why we hire them?
      She was also speeding and driving with a suspended license. It was more than just an old parking ticket.

      1. And I guess the police in Cleveland were merely enforcing rules when they shot and killed that 10 year old boy. Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right.

        1. No, that was different — and wrong. Shooting and killing is different than arresting and using handcuffs.

        2. Give the race issue a rest please! Put it back in the deck. She broke the law. Bottom line. If she had hit someone while going almost 20 miles an hour over the speed limit would that be an issue for you? Or only if the victim was not white? And, yes, I am not afraid to use my real name and not hide negative comments behind a alias.

          1. So you think it’s ok to shoot 10 year old boys? I didn’t raise race here. It’s wrong to kill 10 year white boys too.

            1. Wow! That’s a stretch given my comments. Please extrapolate on exactly what the Princeton issue has to do with Cleveland? I have never said that killing anyone is ok. I think you are just trying to be provocative. The Princeton Police Department do a stand up job in this town. There are bad people in every walks of life, including law enforcement. But for you to bring up Cleveland in this discussion just shows you are looking for an argument. End of the discussion for me.

              1. Mark suggested that the police were merely enforcing rules here, as a way to explain the situation. I pointed out that the police in Cleveland also thought they were enforcing rules when they shot and killed the 10-year old boy.

                The point is that just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. We have a nationwide problem with over aggressive policing. And Princeton has historically had it too.

            2. Where did anyone get shot in this case? You are employing red herring defense ad nauseum here. So she shouldn’t have to obey the law because someone, somewhere was wrongfully shot? Stick to the case.

    2. Her license was suspended. She was speeding in town, where people walk and bicycle. And she hadn’t paid tickets in 3 years. What do you think would happen to anyone stopped “for speeding” under those circumstances?

      1. Thanks for your comment. To answer your question, I guess I thought—among other things—that a male-female police crew would have the female officer perform the body search on a female suspect. Wouldn’t you?

        1. I have a feeling that for Ms. Imani, a “body search” would be considered a routine pat down by others but we’ll have to wait for the videotape.

  2. I have very little sympathy for her. She was driving at nearly 70 mph on one of our Princeton roads. That is totally inappropriate. She had unpaid tickets that were years old. That is inexplicable. If you do stuff like that, the law is going to come for you. I hope she learns a lesson from this. There are bad cops out there but our Princeton force is one of the best. I don’t think the accusations against them have any merit.

    1. I totally agree with you. Her driving speed was excessive; she got caught and now wants to deflect the attention from her mistakes.

      1. First, pay your tickets and don’t speed, especially in my neighborhood, where the cars already go too fast.

        Second, my interactions with the police have been good and I appreciate what they do for me. When I am out running in the morning and an officer is helping school kids cross a busy street, they’ll stop the traffic so I too can make it across in one piece. I suspect I am not the only one who enjoys such niceties here in Princeton. These are the little things that make life that much nicer in Princeton.

        Third, I’m lucky to be white, and so is my family. I don’t worry about my white sons getting stereotyped by authorities or others, including, unfortunately, people like me. I’ve never felt the need to tell them to be extra respectful to police if they should be stopped for something. My friends of color don’t have this luxury. I don’t worry that my white daughter or white wife will be handcuffed in this type of situation (but reading the comments of Chief Sutter, maybe they will, but that seems to be State policy) or that people will make negative assumptions about them if they forget to pay some tickets (and it is these assumptions that are the most offensive in these posts). My friends of color don’t have this luxury.

        Whether we recognize it or not, being white in the greatest country on earth gives us great privileges in this great country. So before we start criticizing Prof. Perry, we should ask how we would feel if this was our white wife, white daughter or white son that was handcuffed to the table for these offenses. I expect I’d be pissed as hell and most people would be as well. Just because she is of color doesn’t mean we can blame her.

        1. I expect she felt the same as I felt when my blue car got pulled out of a legal parking space and towed away for parking tickets that were only a year old back when I was a young adult. And I was pretty pissed that I had to troop all over NYC to find out what lot it was towed to because no one could look it up for me. AND, I was really insulted when I had to have cash or a bank check to pay my fines so they would release my car, because they didn’t take credit cards and they didn’t trust my check. BUT, it never occurred to me to blame my mistreatment on the fact that I was a white person with a blue car. I thought it was just what happened when you didn’t pay your parking tickets in NYC… Who knew?

          1. They didn’t tow her car. They arrested her. That’s a big difference.

            And in case you haven’t been following the news. There have been a number of people of color shot and killed by police over the past couple of years during stops/arrests. These people hadn’t done anything wrong.

            If people had been dying in NYC, you would have heard of it.

            All this stuff is related.

              1. Unfortunately, all this stuff is related, I’ve seen it my entire life while living in various regions of the country, and that is as a white male. For example, while working in a smaller town in Texas as an engineer, I saw that one of my fellow engineers (from Nigeria) had been pulled over by the police. I pulled up and asked what the problem was. The officer told me that there had been reports of gun shots in the area and they thought my colleague was a suspect. I merely told them that he worked with me and was there at the plant five minutes earlier. Based on my words, they immediately let him go. I doubt the police were being racist when they pulled him over, or when they took my word and let him go. But if I wasn’t a clean cut white guy, would they have let him go.

                Next, growing up in the South in the 70s and 80s, in a university town with a black part of town and white part of town, my fellow high school students of color had options and ambitions only for the local textile mills or service jobs at the university. My white friends, like me, would all go to universities. Racism? That’s just the way it was.

                Living in Virginia, I saw four teens knock over a street light in front of my apartment. I called the police who quickly arrived and went looking for the four teens. They didn’t find them. When I spoke to the officers in person and gave a better description, including race, the police realized they had seen the four white teens walking up the street but had assumed the perpetrators to be four black kids. Unfortunately, I’d probably have made the same assumption. I doubt these police were racist, but we all make assumptions based on our life experiences. It is hard not to.

                Is this entire situation of the professor racism? I don’t know, but it certainly is all connected. Maybe our kids will move past noticing the color of people’s skin but until then I will continue to be the unsought recipient of the privilege of being a white male. For example, I will never worry about being pulled over for DWW (driving while white). But I’ll certainly need to avoid speeding in town, and keep current with my parking tickets, vehicle inspections and registrations to make life easier.

                1. Yes, we have all witnessed unfairness, and we have all experienced unfairness, no matter what color skin we’re in.

                  When I was in college, I waited tables at breakfast at a local restaurant. The head of the African American Studies Department used to come in periodically with his guests. Although breakfast is actually the hardest meal to serve because so much of what is ordered is actually put together by the waitstaff, he never left a tip. I like to think that that was because it didn’t occur to him to tip for breakfast and not because I was white.

                  Some years ago, my sister’s friend was riding the subway in NYC. Her car eventually emptied until the only other people on the car were a small group of minority youths. Her instincts told her that she should switch cars, but, worried that her instincts were racist and not wanting to offend, she stayed seated. As they approached the next stop, the youths rose to get off. As the train pulled into the station, one of them grabbed hold of the overhead bar and swung himself, kicking his feet into her face; the other grabbed her wedding ring. In addition, she lost three teeth. I believe that bad kids can come in all colors, but I also believe that we ought to be able to respond to our instincts without being called racist.

                  Life isn’t fair, and, sadly, by nature people aren’t always fair; but we can continue to strive for fairness. Certainly some have had more privileged than others, but we can work each day to right the imbalance. While I am sure that Dr. Perry has experience unfairness in her lifetime, she has also been afforded great privilege which she is now using to stir the pot.
                  Her decision to pursue victimhood, instead of holding herself accountable for her own actions, insults the police for just doing their job and encourages disrespect. But even worse, it adds to the rising din of trivial complaints over political correctness and perceived slights that will never be wholly eradicated and threatens to drown out the important cries for real change by making us all tone deaf. Tamir Rice, shot in Chicago, is important. Sandra Bland, driven to suicide in Texas, is important. Dr. Perry, caught driving recklessly and held on a bench warrant until she paid her past due speeding tickets, is not.
                  We can’t keep trying to fix

                  1. No one is saying that we have not all experienced unfairness, but you all have not experienced racism on a consistence basis. Dr. Perry did not “pursue victimhood”, but made a legitimate claim of being treated unfairly. People of other races were arrested by the same department and were not treated in the manner that she did. The chief admitted that not everyone was handcuffed to the table and refused to release the footage of her at the station.

                    The cases of Tamir Rice and Sandra are important considering each death was the result of police brutality. Another reason for their notoriety is that people feel they were treated unfairly based on their skin color. Sandra bland did not kill herself.

                    It is not about having thick skin because that would imply you have to tolerate mistreatment. Thick skin would mean to ignore issues as if they do not exist instead of addressing them. It is about people being treated equal, which mean your race should not be a determining factor in the way people treated a person.

          2. The focus was on your car and not the color of your skin. You were not in your car when this occurred. This has nothing to do with race.

      2. Thanks for your comment, but where in her statement does Professor Perry “deflect the attention from her mistakes”? (In fact, if she didn’t want attention drawn to her mistakes, wouldn’t she have kept quiet about the whole incident?)

      3. Thanks for your comment. I’m curious: what makes you think Professor Perry “felt she could use her color to avoid paying tickets”?

    2. You make it sound like she was intentionally not paying those tickets. What if they were simply overlooked?

      The 67 mph is inexcusable. I didn’t read that at first.

      1. That’s why cops have to arrest people. So they remember not to ‘overlook’ those things next time.

        1. I pity the world you live in. I guess every detail in your life is perfect.

          You have a distorted view of the rationale behind arrests. It’s one reason we have an incarceration problem. Please do some research on how arrests for minor reasons ends up ruining a person’s life. The statistics are tragic. I can’t believe anyone in Princeton would be so callous.

          1. Every detail in my life is certainly not perfect but the difference is that I take responsibility for my bad decisions instead of trying to blame somebody else.

            1. The victim hadn’t blamed anyone when the incident happened.

              So in your world, you think it’s ok for the police to arrest you for anything you might have not done 100% properly.
              Would you be happy for your mother to be pat down by a male police officer over a ticket?

              1. “anything you might have not done 100% properly.”?

                Two parking tickets, ignored, for years.
                license suspended
                Speeding, over 20 mph over the limit

                anything.

                She wasn’t arrested for illegal parking, she was arrested for outstanding warrants. When someone scoffs at the laws, they should expect to be patted down and restrained.

          2. Three years is a long time to avoid paying a ticket and she had more than one of them. That is a lot of correspondence to overlook.

            1. My registration was once suspended. I never received any notice about it. It turns out that the DMV never changed my address when I moved, even though I filed a change of address form in person.

              Stuff happens. I don’t understand why everyone is so hostile to the idea that she might not have known about much of this

          3. Not paying tickets for years results in a warrant for your arrest. So why should she be surprised when she is arrested? It doesn’t have anything to do with race.

      2. I do believe the DMV mails you a notice when they suspend your license. She didn’t claim not to know she had tickets overdue.

        1. Yet there is no way for you to know if she received any mail from them, had her current address on file with the DMV or was aware of the warrant. You make these assumptions without facts because you like to argue due to bad parenting. Sadly, my saying this about you means nothing to you as long you surround yourself with family family and friends who are bad people just like you are.

          This is a personal attack on your character because you are a disgusting person contrary to what the disgusting people who are your social circle say to you. The reason your family and friends think highly of you is because they are disgusting like you are.

            1. She could have paid part of the fines with the savings from license renewals not paid for the period she was suspended. I think she would have been alerted, again, to the suspension on attempting to renew her license, or registration. NJMVS is usually on top of these things.

          1. Your address is on your PA DL as is your picture. Unfortunately, it’s the holders responsibility to maintain it correctly. Just like the IRS — try telling them that you did not get the notice. You can update the PA information online and address changes for DL and Registrations are free.

            The problem here is the warrant. You can’t ignore a warrant even if you think the reasons for it are wrong.

    3. You probably haven’t lived here long… Sutter seems an improvement, but he’s still a product of a very bad era in policing here. We need to see the tapes & hear the audio.

  3. Since when is it trivial to drive with a suspended license? The “statement” made it seem like the only violation committed was being late in paying tickets, but that is minor as compared with driving without a valid license and going at a high speed in town.

    I’m glad this will get a neutral review; I like Sutter’s comments. I’m also baffed as to why someone who is honest and has a suitable income would fail to pay tickets for 3 years, and then continue driving when the license was suspended.

    I live on Harrison Street, where people commonly drive at dangerous speeds, and I WANT the police to stop speeders before they kill someone. I’m definitely having trouble being sympathetic for the alleged victim.

  4. In this case, it sounds like there was more than one violation of the law. Longtime residents know that’s REALLY asking for it in Princeton…Doesn’t matter what color your skin is!!! Our police are wired to record every conversation that takes place from the moment an encounter begins. Encounters with the police are also being filmed with a dash cam. The audio & video tapes in this arrest will tell the whole story. Our police will either be vilified or exonerated of any wrongdoing. If the tapes of this arrest are lost, or if the whole arrest can’t be viewed, we have a serious problem again, folks! There was once a time when you could fill every nook & cranny of the Witherspoon Municipal Hall with people of every age & every race who were inappropriately cuffed & detained by the Princeton PD. The police force here now keeps statistics of all arrests. I doubt all this stroking of Chief Sutter has created another Monster Chief or hooligan force… our PD was once so out of control…but, the facts will speak for themselves. ( Note to residents: When forced out of your car, try to stay between the police car & your own car on the road to keep your arrest on film. Once you are taken to the sidewalk, you are off camera. That’s where abuse in Princeton has gone unrecorded in the past.)

  5. Psssssttttt….when white people drive 70 in a 45, with a suspended license and a warrant they get arrested too. You are not entitled to break the law without consequence, professor. Here’s an idea…follow the rules or accept the consequences! No one is saying black people need to behave perfectly, as you state in your letter, what we’re hoping is that you stop blaming rave each time you are punished for breaking the law.

    1. Psssssssttttttt…. People of color only make up 6.7 percent of Princeton, but make up 15% of all traffic stops. They disproportionately stop people of color. You forgot to address that issue since we are whispering. People are saying people of color need to act perfectly considering when they do not they are treated different than the privilege people. You are arguing her actions instead of addressing the purpose of her claims which is racism. She owned up to not paying tickets or speeding. You are using her actions as a means to deflect from addressing racism or find a insignificant reason to invalidate her claim.

  6. I’m pretty sure this has absolutely nothing to do with race.

    It is driven by attitude.

    Ms. Perry demonstrated an elitist attitude, thinking laws do not apply to her. It wouldn’t matter if she was white, she would say she was treated unfairly because she was a woman, or because of any of a multitude of reasons.

    She will never acknowledge she was treated just like anyone else who had committed her crimes, because she doesn’t think she has committed any crimes.

      1. You might want to work on those social skills.

        If you have no response other than an ad hominem attack, you can find employment with Mr. Trump’s organization

        1. You may want to be less of a pile of horse dung for awhile but that’s doubtful. Go around attacking people for attacking you. This is a personal attack. It’s not wrong to refuse to argue with the likes of you and to do the same as your disgusting loved ones do and judge your character except those who love you are wrong and we are right. Their personal affirmations are wrong. Now shut up troll

  7. I had a 3-6 mo old and 1 year old and a 3 year old at home, and forgot to pay a parking ticket in princeton. They scanned my plates, realized my license had been suspended for 2 days, pulled me over. I wasn’t allowed to drive of course since license was suspended (for an unpaid parking ticket), and i had to call a friend who could drive me to trenton to get license reinstated and then back to car. Took a whole day basically and lots of money. I’m not saying I didn’t do anything wrong, but I strongly believe the punishment outweighs the crime in this case. Couldn’t the state offer the ability to pay double the fine immediately on the spot and reinstate the license for things as little as a parking ticket. Its not a moving violation, so the fact people have their license suspended because of it seems odd. That day I had to get to my job..i had 3 little mouths to feed… and i was too distracted to pay my ticket on time (and should have paid it on time). I’m not saying there shouldn’t be punishment, but again i think the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

  8. Her blatant disregard for the law is quite similar to another Harvard Law alum, Obama. Her arrogance and facility with playing the race card is on par with him as well. Princeton U. should sack her like they canned Corny West. Enough of this double-standard rubbish. The lives of those she endangered with her speeding matter too!

  9. And thank you, Liz Lemmon, for announcing that it’s OK to break the law. Right up there with Baltimore mayor Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who encouraged her voters to riot & pillage. Is Princeton some sort of alternate Lefty universe or what?

  10. What a sad little bigot. How approriate to have the last name Phelps. Are you a product of one of Fred Phelps’ no doubt incestuous unions?

    1. I am not associated with the Fred Phelps clan and it might come as a surprise to you that there are a lot of people that aren’t. I wasn’t aware that the expectation of equal treatment under the law was bigotry. You seem to have a problem discussing the issue and instead resort to childish taunts. I wonder if that is what you really aspire to do.

  11. Liz should do everybody a favor & resign if she can’t handle the police enforcing the law.

    1. Der Flahute: you don’t pay much attention to the real world. The cops use warrants to hammer people they don’t like. Please stop pretending that the police enforce the law evenly.

      1. There was an outstanding warrant for her arrest. Would you prefer people with such warrants not be booked and secured during same? I don’t think you’d like the outcome.

    2. Hold on, ParentsMustDoBetter. Slow down and read that post again before you go fanning the flames. Dr. Perry’s name is Imani. Liz is Princeton’s mayor, and taxpayers in Princeton have every right to complain about their Mayor’s opinion if they want to. As you said earlier on Dr. Perry’s be-half, we still have freedom of speech.

  12. IF Ms. Perry’s pat down was done by the male officer instead of the female officer present, Princeton residents collectively (regardless of ethnicity) will have the problem of our PDs disrespect for citizens to face.

    1. Are white females patted down by male officers? I didn’t say anything about their patdown procedure so I’m wondering if you also would like to comment on any other random item you are unhappy about in there. Red herring much?

      1. Read some of Ms. Perry’s tweets on social media before writing… just bringing up one potentially valid point in this whole mess. I’m concerned for every Princeton taxpayer that our extremely well paid, extremely well supported PD might have an officer winging it out there on the street, instead of following basic procedures that were developed to protect everyone. Every citizen is entitled to fair treatment under the law… so, it seems possible Ms. Perry has reason to complain even though she’s admittedly imperfect in her regard for the law herself. Hate on me & my comment if you want, but I am sincerely interested in your rights, my rights, everyone’s rights. I’m viewing the Perry incident through the lens of human rights issues, not race issues. We ALL deserve to be treated without unnecessary force & disrespect by our police force. The police deal with offenders & offenses all the time & they need to be expert at it…not aggressive at it.. that is their job. If there’s even one officer on our Princeton force who gets all flummoxed during a simple stop & disregards procedure…Princeton taxpayers have a problem, The tapes will tell the story. History tells us that such errors in judgement are very costly to the town & create large bills for the resident taxpayers to pay. That is where I’m coming from.

        1. When you go through a TSA Checkpoint do you get to choose who you’d like to have pat you down and who you don’t? No. Everyday people of different genders and races are patted down by one another while traveling the globe. It’s a matter of security. Pats downs are pat downs. They’re routine and practiced by those who give them to minimize the discomfort caused to the recipient. Now I know there are exceptions and bad cops but I think we can all agree in this case there was most likely nothing amiss. The Professor herself stated she did not receive any rough or brutal treatment. Let’s add it up and take any racial or gender connotations away: Multiple unpaid municipal violations+suspended NJ driving privileges+warrant for arrest to pay violations+excessive speeding in Princeton residential area = Lights and sirens in your rear view+”license and registration please”+”ma’am your license is suspended and you owe Princeton a lot of money”+our protocol is to bring those with warrants out for them to settle up.

            1. Obviously they’ve been routine, forgettable experiences to the point that gender hasn’t mattered. If you’ve got nothing to hide take your pat down and move on. Funny we’re applauding women serving alongside men in the highest levels of the military and everyday hearing the call for equality between the sexes, but a routine pat down is raising the specter of sexism by the Princeton PD. As if the officer despite all his sensitivity and diversity training was going out of his way to cop a feel (pun). I don’t think so and bet you don’t either.

          1. In any major airport in this country, your pat down will always be performed by a person of your own gender…even if you have to wait awhile. I can’t say what occurs in small airports like Trenton. I can’t say what happens if you’re transgender & need a pat down, but I’ll bet the staff is trained to ask what your pronoun is (if there’s uncertainty) & will assign a like-gender TSA officer for a transgender pat-down. You may think such courtesies can be dismissed, but actually they acknowledge human dignity which is a VERY important thing to do.

            1. There is a federal law that requires this. Most states do not have such a law for arrests. On the streets it’s not practical to wait for a cop of the same gender. He broke no law or procedure other than the Princeton Rule, which is don’t piss off Princeton people because the law should be different for them.

            2. FreshAir – Not so. More than once I’ve experienced opposite sex pat-downs. I did not complain.

            3. Rubbish. There is no loss of dignity when a member of one gender “pats down” another. Your arguement is an ingredient of the SJW kool-aid.

          2. Wanna’ bet? TSA most certainly DOES use gender appropriate officers for pat downs and the pat downs are rare.

            1. Yeah, Ill bet. This is Princeton. The cops know what entitle whiners their citizens can be, black or white, and act with caution as a result.

        2. According to the officer’s account, he patted her down in the most unobtrusive way that went nowhere anyplace that could be remotely considered a violation of her privacy of indecent.

        3. A Terry pat down is not a strip search.

          The US Supreme Court held that it is not a constitutional infringement to pat down someone who they stop, for the reason that the officer can not be expected to guess whether the person he stopped is armed. Terry v Ohio.

          A Terry pat down is just a cursory over the clothes pass to check for weapons. It if very sexist of you to believe that women are too gentle and passive to shoot a male police officer who is in contact with them during a stop.

        4. Is it illegal for a male officer to pat down a female? I doubt it. A pat down is standard procedure in any arrest and should be.

        5. Does it really matter? The professor’s actions put her in the situation. She should have known the consequences of her actions. Until I hear different, I will assume the female officer was in training and/or the male officer was had more experience in the situation.

      2. Yes they are. I am a police officer and have had this exact same situation happen with females of every race you can think of. If there is no female officer available, you simply cannot put them in the back of the car without being searched. I have always placed them in front of my dashboard camera and patted them down so there would be no allegations of groping, sexual assault, etc. I have to admit that I never imagined a female arrestee would try the race card in such a situation.

        Oh, and guess what? When female officers arrest males without a male officer present, they pat the males down as well. Race is irrelevant until someone who knows they are wrong tries to use it to get special treatment as Ms. Perry is.

      3. NO woman should be patted down by a male officer. There are plenty of female police officers to take over this task. Nancy Phelps, have you ever been ‘patted down’ (or maybe I could say ‘felt up’) by a male & how did you feel?

        1. I have been patted down by a male officer. I didn’t think he was feeling me up. I broke the law and faced the conscientious the same as anyone who breaks the law knowingly. She disregarded her tickets she broke the law knowingly. She disregarded her court appearance breaking the law once again. There should be no special treatment because of the color of her skin or whom her employer is, or her education. Is this what she wants to teach her students? Then that’s where the problem lays.

    2. Pat down by a male officer is NOT disrespectful! Should every stop involve two genders of officer, just in case. You’re being impractical.

  13. Trick ass NJ… They stopped me for a broken windshield and told me I had unpaid tickets from 20+ years ago…. One from from another state. LOL…

  14. In the fleeting hope that facts might–just might–make a difference here, one arguably indisputable FACT is that traveling 67 in a 45 is tantamount to a reckless disregard for human life. However, realizing that the Princeton student’s supportive statement will do its part to obsure the reality of the situation and enlist a throng, the Princeton U. administration might exercise its responsibillity to acknowledge that Professor Perry is entitled to a presumption of innocence, and for the time being, let that be it. As one who has researched non-biased police traffic enforcement as a traction point to reduce injury prevalence in our society, I am fearful the best reaction now is to sit back and watch this episode spin out of control, with Prof. Perry and witness those supporting her discrimination complaint takie this episode one more perilous step closer to Black Entitlement. This is a sad day for objectivicty, fairness, and the legitimate role of policing in our society to demonstrably align with protecting the sanctity of all human life, including but not limited to, students and others traversing Mercer Street. (Cliff Karchmer ’68)

    1. Your post is about the denial of the reality of ethnically, racially, and culturally different others. “This is a sad day for objectivicty, fairness, and the legitimate role of policing in our society to demonstrably align with protecting the sanctity of all human life”, which is a nice way of ignoring the unfair treatment of people of color by police. “One step closer to Black Entitlement”. Black entitlement is another term used to invalidate claims of racism or unfair treatment by people of color. No other race of people have more entitlements in this country than white people. The term “black entitlement” is one that is similar to the claims of reverse racism, which does not exist.

  15. I’m a 20+ year resident and business owner in Princeton and was pulled over in front of my establishment for having a warrant out for my arrest for not paying a parking ticket. The officer casually looked up my license, as they do often, while driving behind me. The officer explained why she pulled me over and then said she had to take me to the station to settle the fine and that I would need to be handcuffed. I questioned “why handcuffed” and she calmly explained that she had to “follow procedures”. She knew I was a local business person / but the law is the law and the police have NO CHOICE but to follow all procedures set before them. Fine, I went, had them fill out whatever they needed to, payed the bill and was on my way. Humiliating? YES. Excessive? YES. Necessary? YES – until someone changes the law or procedures. DO NOT BLAME our local Police officers and I’m frankly OUTRAGED that she is playing the RACE card here. How dare she? In addition to her outstanding ticket, she was going 67 in a 45 and with a suspended license / enough with this topic. One thing this humiliating event taught me is to pay any parking tickets on time! Let’s please move on.

    1. If you’ll notice she said that if it is a mater of procedure it is a problem (which you seem to agree with) and that if it is not then she is wondering whether it is about race. Since this seems to be a police procedure, then it seems like the two of you are in agreement that this practice is unnecessary and excessive and should not be standard practice in this community.

      1. I’m in agreement – however she does clearly state that “but I can say what I experience was far more likely because of my skin’s deep brown, my nose is round and my hair is coily”. If you want to call that “wondering” then fine / but it’s not how it comes across.

      2. All the headlines are stating because she was black and says it was over parking tickets. When you actually read more you get the 20+ over the speed limit and expired license.

    2. Apparently Dr. Perry feels differently and just as you recount what you believe is right with your experience, since we still have freedom of speech, I think? She too has every right to discuss how she feels. Additionally it is very unfortunate that Caucasians believe they are the ones to decide when a person of color can believe an incident is occurring because of race. it’s ludicrous to think that you can second guess what a person of color believes is happening based on what they have experienced their whole lives. Perhaps Dr. Perry is wrong, as she states above she can not definitively say, but here is the real problem: why are certain members of our society exposed to so many opportunities to observe people that they resemble being treated unfairly? It informs one’s belief system is my point.

      1. Agreed that she has every right to share her experience. What I am saying is that the Police followed proper outlined procedures and I can personally attest to that. What I do not like is to read are things like ” . . that what I experienced was far more likely because my skin’s deep brown, my nose is rounded and hair is coily”.
        And, in another part she states ” . . I hope that this circle of attention will be part of a deeper reckoning with how and why police officers behave the way they do, especially to those of us whose flesh is dark” / folks, I had one overdue parking ticket, she was driving 67 in a 45 and with a suspended license on top of the warrant for parking tickets. She should have been arrested and based on my experience was treated fairly and like anyone else. This has nothing to do with “coily hair” and those “whose flesh is dark”.
        The law and procedures related to the Parking Ticket warrant are excessive and must be changed.

      2. She lost people with the “behavioral perfection” She did not pay the two tickets .. OK .. I get it. But… the drivers license being suspended? Come on .. everybody knows this is foolish.

        She goes on and to say she did not do anything wrong? Well she did. It’s not behavioral perfection.

        I have never driven with an expired license

    3. Dr. Perry makes it pretty clear that it is the law that is an issue, not the officers’ conduct.

      1. If she really believed that, she would be addressing that specifically and only. But she’s not.

      2. Agreed – the law is the issue. The point I’m making is that she was not treated any differently than others with arrest warrant hanging over their heads and that I really do NOT appreciate her bringing RACE in to this trivial motor vehicle “incident” for which she is clearly guilty.

      3. CJ,
        Dr. Perry flat out says in her statement that the police treated her “inappropriately and disproportionately”. But this is the point, she wasn’t treated inappropriately. She was treated the same way I would have been treated for the same offense in Princeton, Boston, Chicago, or any number of places around the country.

      1. The police shouldn’t have to stand there and wonder if the person they are dealing with has a Glock or a switchblade on their person, male or female.

        A cursory pat down isn’t a strip search.

        1. The public should not have to stand there with someone with a glock and wonder if they will die. Most police stations have policies of female officers patting down females that are arrested. It does not matter if it was not a strip search. Anyone touching a person in personal places is in appropriate.

          1. Lotta fail, there Jamal.

            First, why would anyone pulled over AND COOPERATING have to worry about a cop’s Glock?

            The pat down wasn’t at a police station, it was at the scene of the crime and the revelation that the prof had outstanding warrants.

            If no female officer is present on location, the police are under no obligation to stand there in the presence of a possibly armed arrestee, waiting for the who knows when a woman cop would show up. Thats not the law, thats not procedure, and that isn’t even safe or prudent for either party.

            And nobody is accused of touching “personal places”, whatever that is.

            And men don’t have personal places? Jeesh.

            1. I will make it plain grifhunter. “why would anyone pulled over AND COOPERATING”, which the premise alone shows that you are aware of the encounters people of color have had with law enforcement. Further, it shows that you understand the light that is shine directly on the actions of police and videos of them operating illegally and with impunity.

              You can understand how a police life is at danger hence your quote of “possible armed arrestee”, but yet can not understand the danger face by people encountering police. Go Figure!

              Most police station have policies against opposite sex pat downs. A male touching a female could possible be sexual assault. Every other man has a private areas, but I do not know what you have.

              1. Well, a couple of aberrational incidents, many of which after independent fed scrutiny turned out to be justified, doesn’t sustain any claim of some tendency wanton illegal shoots by LE. Painting people you don’t like with broad brushes, instead of judging on the individual facts, is classic defined PREJUDICE. Own your bigotry.

                Those aberrational incidents have also happened with white cops on white people, black cops on white people, Asian cops on black people, Asian cops on asian people, and so forth.

                When getting stopped/arrested you are supposed to have fear- fear that bad, possibly lethal consequences may befall you for acting stupid and “keeping it real”. Thats what the gun and badge are for- impose fear on those who may contemplate killing the officer to get away. Deterrence. So there is no “unique” black experience when encountering LE on a stop; everyone with a brain should have fear. And behave.

                And this pat down didn’t occur in a station, but during a stop in the field. Different standards for field stops.

        2. She said a female officer was present and easily accessible to do the pat down. IF she was going 20+ over (I have been misquoted speeds by officers more than once) and had a warrant, the main issue becomes the pat down and handcuffing to a table. I’m unsure as to the protocol on phone calls but I’ve been allowed to use my phone during a routine traffic stop. As Luckypatch stated, he was brought to the station, allowed to settle his fines and released. The treatment of Dr Perry seems harsher, and unnecessarily so, by comparison. I can’t imagine as a white woman being handcuffed to a table for a parking ticket. And if I was, I would raise hell about it. African Americans are criminalized in this society by conscious and subconscious measures. It is necessary to consider that this woman was treated differently due to conscious or unconscious bias. Yes, objectively the officers were required to bring her in (due to an outrageous law that doesn’t exist in most other states… parking tickets, really?) but none of us were there to witness her treatment while in custody and if she is telling us that her treatment was harsh and unnecessary, we have the duty to listen and consider the possibility that what she has to say is a valid critique of the handling of civilians of different races, genders and classes by police officers. And take the time to reflect on our own biases.

    4. You were patted down by a female officer and left handcuffed to a table? I added to Janubie post.

  16. She unconsciously nailed with her reference to “affluent suburb.” In other words, she believes that people — white or black — who drive with a suspended license and an outstanding arrest warrant in Princeton should be treated differently from people in Camden.

    1. Exactly. Suddenly it’s become an act of racial nullification to ignore traffic laws. What happens when some poor kid gets run down by someone who thinks she’s too important to drive safely?

    2. Honestly, that is what you took from the entire post? You only took class being the issue from her posts. Go Figure!

  17. This is an embarrassment to Princeton U. How could they hire someone with such poor judgment? They should fire her just as fast for presenting these inflammatory comments that will undoubtedly foster hate and discontent on campus from naive students. Imani, grow up and try being part of the solution and not the problem which is fostering respect for our authorities who you will no doubt turn to if you are in trouble AND responsibility for your actions! It was mighty convenient for you to leave out your reckless driving from your public comments…wander why! The systemic problem is that blacks and minorities commit the VAST majority of violent crimes…why dont you talk about this problem. Or that the much bigger problem is reverse discrimination – how about the lesser standards that you and other black faculty and students had to meet to earn your/their position. What happened to a merit based process. You should apologize for the fallacy you are promoting, take responsibility for your actions, and thank the police for being lenient on you as a result of your color.

    1. At first, i thought you were serious. I appreciate your satire of the right wing attacks. It’s very effective in understanding the problems that people of color have in our society.

  18. I am cracking up in response to the statements about warrants and no choice. She had a warrant for parking tickets – not murder, not even possession of marijuana. Any honest law enforcement officer will tell you that there is a lot of paperwork to do when an arrest is made. They will also tell you about jail overcrowding and the need to reserve space for serious offenses. While Princeton may be small enough to avoid an overcrowding problem – no doubt their officers will sometimes avoid doing paperwork for something like a parking ticket if the person involved promises to take care of the warrant. To say they don’t have discretion and that it never happens is just not truthful. Don’t pretend that officers don’t exercise some discretion – even if it is under-the-table discretion. If you don’t appear dishonest at the beginning, people can believe you when you say this officer does his/ her job by the books and another officer is lazy. But to say across the board no discretion is ever exercised just fuels the perception you say you are trying to manage.

    1. A bench warrant means you failed to show up in court and enter a plea or pay a fine. That means it is a warrant for your arrest, the nature of the violation is irrelevant, you violated the law and are subject to arrest. I’ve never heard of anyone committing a crime, like speeding in a residential zone, and being allowed to walk if you’ve had a bench warrant issued against you. I would think there would be more questions raised about why an officer ignored a bench warrant for arrest rather than the other way around. Not only that, but I’ve heard that the bench warrant also resulted in a suspended drivers license, another violation. How about the concept that she should be held accountable for actions, there’s a new concept for you.

      1. TYPICAL white dope. “dude man”. Oh, please. Gimme a break. Every word she writes is true. I am a white woman, professional with long wavy brown hair and big blue eyes, and I have been let go on at least 3 speeding tickets in my adult life, and once while driving with an overdue inspection, registration, and with cancelled insurance (due to the other oversights)….I let it lapse because I am disorganized and imperfect, although intelligent and well-meaning. The cops are partial and subjective and biased in their treatment of whites versus blacks. If you are too ignorant to admit that, then YOU are a part of the problem in this country.

      2. And…… you didn’t have a bench warrant for your arrest, did you? Ya, and I’m the dope, LOL, you do understand what a warrant for your arrest is, don’t you? Look in the mirror honey, you just failed your IQ test. We will pretty much dismiss your commentary based on sheer ignorance and lack of common sense, thanks anyway.

      3. Well you know what? I am a white woman too(cute and petite) and I lived in Princeton for more than 10 years. I too had a warrant for unpaid parking tickets and made an illegal U-turn on Nassau St. I was pulled over by Princeton PD and treated EXACTLY the same as this woman which was FAIRLY. I was not under arrest so I did not get a call UNTIL I was placed in a private cell. Everything that happened that day was a result of MY irresponsibility. This woman needs to grow up.

    2. You’re addressing a red herring. She didn’t go into stir, so why argue about overcrowding. She was booked & released.

  19. Geez, you’re doing 67mph in a 45 zone to begin with, then you have a bench warrant for unpaid tickets, you get taken in like anyone else and you pull the race card. How typical! I long for the day that people will take responsibility for, and accept the consequences of their own actions. SMH

  20. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY RACIAL! Everyone knows blacks can ignore the speed limit and accumulate parking tickets that they don’t have to pay for…… laws don’t apply to them!

  21. Dr Perry, driving 67 mph in a 45 speed limit is BIG in my book. Driving with an expired driver’s license is wrong, also; a couple of unpaid tkts, well, perhaps you needed extra time to pay; but going over the speed limit does it for me. Playing the race card when you were in the wrong is not cool. That is the protocol and though there might be some flexibility, yes, perhaps if you were driving 5 or 10 miles over the speed limit; but no, you are guilty, and you should be quiet. If that is the protocol, just remember next time. I never forgot after I got a speed ticket and j was driving 32 mph so over 25 speed limit, I paid my ticket and I see cars behind me wanting to pass me because since that day, I just don’t go over the speed limit. Before tweeting your hurt feelings, you should have educated yourself about the procedure.

  22. If this professor wanted to make a point that she was “racially profiled”, then she must produce some evidence that persons not of “darker flesh” (as she describes herself), are treated differently. But she does not. She makes no attempt to identify disparate treatment. Therefore, her argument does not pass intellectual muster, it appears at this juncture to be nothing more than a lame attempt to obfuscate and supplant her earlier decisions to ignore the speeding law, the parking law, and the time requirements for paying fines. If race or gender were involved in the situation, I will join her in condemning the police, however, if she is merely using race to divert attention and turn herself in to a modern day martyr of the black race……. well that’s intellectually dishonest, shameful, and insulting to those members of the black race who have been subject to racial profiling in the past. Please Professor, show some intellectual integrity and give the evidence of disparate treatment.

    1. I take from your post that you are white and living in a blissful bubble of denial. You want to focus on her actions instead of addressing the elephant in the room which is race being an issue in this situation. “Produce some evidence that persons not of “darker flesh” (as she describes herself), are treated differently”, as if racial profiling is something new in this country. You are attempting to invalidate her claims as if things like this do not happen in this country. Race is a serious issue that many people will avoid especially since it makes them uncomfortable. It is not surprising that you would write this account off as if it did not happen and she is making this up. You should show some “intellectual integrity”, but probably want since you do not have to worry about “disparate treatment”.

      1. She’s the one making the accusations but she has NOTHING to back it up. Racism has nothing to do with her situation. Nothing! Name ONE THING that shows she was mistreated for her race. Bring patted down by a male officer does not prove your point. You WANT this to be about racism. Why?

      2. You are asking us to assume she was mistreated because of her skin color. Since there is absolutely no evidence of that in this case then why should anyone assume that? Everyone has the right of innocence until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the accuser. Obviously, there is none in this case.

        1. I am not asking anyone to assume anything. There is no evidence presented by you or anyone else that she was not discriminated against. There is no proof that race was not a factor in this situation. The burdens lies at the foot of the police also. I am not going to alleviate them of any claims, unlike you, who have already done so.

          1. Does she make a claim of “how” her race played a factor? If she did, I missed it. From everything I’ve been able to gather, she was treated exactly as anyone else would have been according to the law.

            1. She stated that she felt that her race influenced the way she was treated. She was handcuffed to a table, which everyone is not handcuffed to a table. Not everyone is even handcuffed. One instance a lady state she was not even place in handcuffs, but taken to the station to pay the ticket. The chief further stated that not everyone is handcuffed to the table. It shows that not everyone is treated equal. She was not treated “exactly as anyone else” as you stated.

  23. What will be priceless is if the police have video. Not they need any, she committed a felony.

  24. I have news for Ms. Imani: If an overweight white person in overalls driving a beat-up pick-up were stopped by police in Princeton, he would most likely would have been treated a lot more roughly and curtly than she was.

  25. One of the more interesting takeaways from this article is the thoughtfulness of the comments of Dr. Perry, Police Chief Sutter, and Mayor Lempert in response to this incident. If you read what each has written, they are neither disagreeing with each other nor blaming anyone. Prof. Perry and P.C. Sutter are introspective about this situation, and rightly so. We are lucky that neither is attacking the other, they are just pointing out that we should examine this situation more. Mayor Lempert is also correct in noting that the underlying concern is matching the response with the offense. Personally, if I get a parking ticket in my car (which is in wife’s name) and forget to pay it, I don’t want her getting arrested, handcuffed and taken to the station because of my forgetfulness. While I could not blame the police if this was to happen, since they would be just following procedures, is this what we want our spouses and kids to risk in this town? Again, a careful reading of all the quotes in the article point more to introspectiveness rather than an attitude passing the buck. Each of us could do with more of that before judging.

    1. You should visit Dr. Perry’s twitter feed. She’s a lot less introspective there. It also took her two days after her first tweet to mention that she was pulled over for speeding. That would be like the Princeton police tweeting that she had been arrested, but failing to mention that it was for a warrant issued for unpaid parking tickets. Of course that would be unfair. Oh wait, the Princeton police haven’t been tweeting about this.

      1. Out of all that was mention here you seemingly focused on her tweets and missed the entire reason for the post. You will not get it or want to. Go Figure!

        1. Jamal, I get the reason for her post and for yours. You both want to chalk this whole event up to racism. Above, you complain “The issue is that she was not treated as other people from other privilege groups are treated.” Yet I see that you have also read @Luckypatch’s post, below, in which @Luckypatch describes receiving the same treatment for their outstanding warrant and @Luckypatch wasn’t even speeding when they were arrested. You responded to that post with “Your post fail in comparison to her arrest unless you are a female of color and were patted down by a male.” So first you are concerned that Dr. Perry was not treated the same as other people from other privilege groups, but later @Luckypatch’s same experience does not measure up because @Luckypatch is part of another privilege group. All this commenting has got to be making you dizzy.

          1. Each one of the post that you mention I was talking about the same exact issues of race and sex. Luckypatch is trying to compare apples and oranges. He claimed to be stopped by an officer, but he is not a woman or a person of color. He did not mention that his officer was of the opposite sex. His experience was not the same as her experience. He is simply trying to present a scenario to disqualify her claim of unfair treatment by the police. When I wrote privilege groups I mean a non-hispanic white person.

            1. Jamal, you are still going around in circles. @Luckypatch’s gender is unidentified, but you assume @Luckypatch is male. Then you complain that to be comparable, the pat down had to be by a member of the opposite sex, and that @Luckypatch did not mention that “his” officer was of the opposite sex. But @Luckypatch refers to the officer as “she” which I am pretty sure is the opposite sex if you think that @Luckypatch is a “he.” It seems like no argument will satisfy you if the answer isn’t racism. Oh, and thanks for clarifying the target of your racism–

              “When I wrote privilege groups I mean a non-hispanic
              white person.”

              Got it!

              1. Luckypatch scenrio purpose is to draw a comparison between the two occurrence and invalidate the professor claim. As far as I know it could be a troll using made up material in order to disprove the professor experience with the officer. We are not going in circles, but you are still arguing points that I have already agreed happened. You are similar to Luckypatch in your attempt to allude to race not being a factor in this incident. You want me to not argue racism even though it is about race. You are willing to call me a racist, but still resist even mentioning racism in the professor account. You do have privileges based solely on your race as a non-hispanic white person.

                1. Jamal, there is plenty of racism is this world– yours, mine, and every other human being’s–but in this case, Dr. Perry appears to have received the standard treatment for her offenses. Sadly, instead of being relieved to see that she was not singled out because of her race, both you and Dr. Perry continue to malign police who were just doing their job and to attack the people who defend them. In the meantime, there are others out there, far less privileged than Dr. Perry, who have legitimate grievances that should be addressed. By crying wolf and refusing to back down, Dr. Perry is hurting their cause. Her twitter account is full of misleading tweets on this incident which saddens me because I think they are beneath the dignity of such an intelligent, accomplished woman. Dr. Perry has been through an embarrassing incident of her own making. We have all made mistakes like this. Her feelings are understandable, but her continued misleading indignation is not.

                  1. Eduquest, there is plenty of racism in this world, but I am not one of those human beings you speak about in your post who has it. I do not know the standard treatment for her offenses considering other people in her situation were not handcuffed or denied a chance to make a call. “Being relieved to see that she was not singled out because of her race”, which is a ridiculous remark in itself. No one should be relieved to be arrested and treated in such a manner. Further you stated that ” others far less privilege than Dr. Perry, who have legitimate grievances”, as if her claims are not legitimate concerns. This is not an issue that can be gleaned over and forgiven so easily. You are speaking from a place of privilege and have not face racism as a person of color. Dr. Perry is not hurting anyone else cause considering she is speaking for herself. You are acting as if this is a rare occurrence when in fact it happens everyday. “Saddens me, beneath the dignity,” which sounds like you are moralizing on this issue and I do not think you have the right to do so. Her views is her own views and no one can tell her not to have them. It is her freedom to speak her truths and just because you do not agree does not mean you can condone her for it. If you want to help you should fight to ensure she has a voice if you have a “legitimate” concern. Go Figure!

                    1. Jamal, I assume you are not a child, so you have reached the end of my patience and this will be my last reply to you on this issue. If you have yet to realize that her treatment was standard procedure for people of all races in this area, then you should read other people’s comments and other sources before continuing to blindly comment. Or you could just pull your fingers out of your ears and stop screaming “Nah, nah, nah, nah, I can’t hear you.”

                      Dr. Perry was traveling 67 mph in a 45 mph zone with a suspended license, an outstanding warrant for her arrest, and two three-year-old un-paid parking tickets. All of that information is just from this incident. In addition, this is not Dr. Perry’s first warrant over un-paid tickets (she had one in 2011, too), her license is suspended because she was found driving an unregistered vehicle in Pennsylvania (her home state), and she has a two-year-old unpaid ticket on the books in Philadelphia’s Main Line.

                      The released video shows that Dr. Perry, a complete scofflaw, was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. In return for their courtesy, Dr. Perry has assaulted the Princeton police with slander and innuendo. It is hard to imagine that a person with a Harvard Law degree does not know the difference between a body search and a pat down.

                      Dr. Perry has spent more than enough time speaking “her truths” on this incident. She has embarrassed her Ivy-League employer and made its President look like a gullible fool. Dr. Perry does not need my pity or support; her Harvard degree and position on Princeton University’s faculty afford her more privilege than I, yet this is how she chose to play the hand she dealt herself. Go figure!

                    2. Eduquest, No one is arguing that she did not have tickets. Dr. Perry has already owned up to having the tickets, which is not being disputed. It is one of the few things that can be agreed upon in this situation. She took responsibility for her actions and that is not disputed either.

                      Next, the video is of her traffic stop, but not of her entire ordeal. The chief refused to release the video of her being handcuffed to the table. He also stated that not everyone was handcuffed to the table when they were arrested. She was patted down by a male officer when there were a female officer present, fact. Her body was searched, fact.

                      Finally, she has not spent more than enough time speaking her truths on this incident. It is your opinion that she has embarrassed her employer and the school president. Dr. Perry having a college degree does not mean she is immune from individualize racism or discrimination. You can not tell what type of degree a person hold just by looking at them. Her degree is irrelevant since she is not arguing she was mistreated because of a degree, but her race. Go Figure!

  26. I don’t know 20 mph over the speed limit with a suspended license and a bench warrant for 3 year old parking tickets. Sounds to me like she was arrested because of all of the above. If you are driving on a suspended they are not going to let you just drive away. I also believe 20 mph over the limit is reckless driving and a felony. What would this story be if it was Princeton Professor hits child while doing 67mph in a 45 mph zone while driving on a suspended license? I hope they impounded her car because it just seems like she has no regard for the law.

    1. What was the point of you making a comment if you missed the entire message of the article? You missed the point that was being made by her statement. Go Figure!

      1. I missed the point? What are you talking about? This lady is a law breaking person who thinks rules don’t apply to her. Are you telling me that a Princeton Professor couldn’t pay a parking fine? 3 years? You can’t tell me she wasn’t receiving letters regarding her disregard to pay her fine. She also is driving on a suspended license again rules apparently don’t apply to her. SHE WAS GOING 67 MPH IN A 45 MPH ZONE!! That’s reckless driving my friend. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your skin color is or how rich you are. If you are that irresponsible and you get caught you are going to take a trip to jail. Then she goes to social media to try and make this some race issue or over policing issue? Just take responsibility for you actions. I can’t believe she is a college professor. I’m sorry but I don’t feel sorry for her or her arthritic wrists. Do the crime do the time. I’m glad that the police department didn’t let her go just because she is a professor. I think that is really why she is so upset. She probably believes she is above the law. She’s a Princeton Professor after all.

        1. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what your skin color is or how rich you are.” No, it does matter who you are, what your skin color is and how rich you are. She does not dismiss her actions in not paying the ticket. The point is that she feels race and sex played a factor in the way she was treated by police as well as her sex. People here want to argue her actions and not address the bigger issue, which is racism. Everyone wants to point out what she did wrong, but do not want to address how her race factored in how she was treated. It is a subject most people will either deflect from addressing or find a insignificant reason to invalidate her claim in order to avoid an uncomfortable subject.

          1. No the real issue is she was pulled over.for going 20 mph over the speed limit. Thenjoy the officer ran her license and found she has a warrant and a suspended license. That is when the officer had to do his job and take her in. No one gets to use the phone before they go to the police station either. She was treated like a reckless driving on a suspended license with a warrant person. She was not treated unfairly.

            1. You said all of that and still did not address race. Just like I stated in my previous post people will either deflect from addressing or find a insignificant reason to invalidate her claim.

              1. Why would I address race? Race has nothing to do with this. This had to do wit breaking the law. If all you are going to do is pull the race card I am done having a conversation with you.

                1. Race is the reason for the entire post. It has everything to do with this post. It has little to do with breaking the law because she owned up to her actions of speeding and not paying the ticket. You are deflecting from addressing race in this instance, which my previous post state that you will do. It is a uncomfortable subject that most will not even mention nor debate.

                  1. It is her opinion that it’s race related. It’s my and everyone else with half a brains opinion that it’s because she broke multiple laws. If she put as much effort into keeping tabs on her ticket payments and getting her license back as she did in trying to call out a police department for simply doing their job she wouldn’t be in this mess.

                    1. You still have not addressed racism direct in any of your post. You are still focusing on her actions without giving any regard to her perception of racism. We can agree that she took full responsibility for her ticket and speeding. This is not the issue that is being debated. Her treatment is the reason for the post. She was treated unfair and it has to do with her race and sex, but mainly her race.

                    2. You pointed it out Jamal, it was HER perception. In the videos, the cops were very courteous to her. They even tried to clarify information when they found out of the suspension and warrant. When confirmed, they nicely asked her out of the car, explained to her what was going on, and had to arrest her because of the warrant that they have a duty to execute. Yes, when asked if she could make a phone call right there they said no, but told her she could make calls after booking at the station. Regarding the pat down, I cannot either way comment on that as it was not in the video. However there was a female officer there, so that does raise some questions. As far as being handcuffed to a table, again, cannot comment as no evidence either way, except her perception, can be given. From what was seen on the videos, I really don’t see how this could be a race issue in this instance. Are there problems? YES but if we always say the way we are treated was racially motivated when it was not, we degrade the true instances and take away from the message. But it seems that you believe it was mistreatment due to race so I challenge you to state your proof other than her perception. Oh and by the way, she does state that she believes she did nothing wrong.

                    3. The story was a whimsical tale. There is evidence of her being handcuffed to a table. The chief of police refused to release the video citing that by law he did not have too. There are other people who came forward with similar situations, but they were not handcuffed at all. One instance a female driver, who was white, was taken to the station to pay her ticket. She was not handcuffed, but simply paid the ticket and left the station. The chief stated that not everyone is handcuff to the table. That means not everyone is treated the same way, which is a problem. It is not perception when it is clear that there is a bias in treatment of suspects. She did not state she did nothing wrong considering she has already stated she had the ticket. The quote that I see a lot of people using is partial.

          2. Her experience had nothing to do with racism! I will NOT find racism where it simply doesn’t exist!

  27. TOO MANY IGNORANT white privileged people on this site. I am done! And I am white! I detest these idiots. They know she is speaking truth…such ignorance.

    1. But she didn’t speak the whole truth – she forgot the part about having an outstanding warrant for her arrest. Oops.

      1. You must not have read the entire article because she mentioned it. You are trying to find anything to invalidate her post.

        1. No, Jamal, I just re-read her Facebook diatribe and she didn’t mention the warrant at all. Nor going 20 MPH over the speed limit. No, because there’s just something so special about her, perhaps being a Princeton professor of being Black, that makes those two facts irrelevant, and her skin color relevant. Despite the fact that one of those inconvenient facts leads to a mandatory arrest.

          1. You are willfully ignorant! “Princeton professor of being Black, her skin color relevant.”, which shows that you believe her race and position at the school factor in this story getting much attention. Yet, you can not comprehend how her race played a factor in the way she was treated. I think that you are willfully ignoring her race because you are privileged to do it. She owned up to her not paying the ticket, which is not the issue being argued in the post. The issue is that she was not treated as other people from other privilege groups are treated. The issue is of race and sex as well as racism.

            1. Evidence? Because she didn’t give any, I’m asking you. Was she stopped because of her race? No, she was stopped because she was speeding. Was she arrested because of her race? No, she had a bench warrant for her arrest, it was mandatory. Was she denied a phone call before getting in the patrol car because of her race? No, phone calls come later, at the station after booking. Was she handcuffed to the table because of her race? According to the police chief, that’s standard procedure, and she offers no evidence to the contrary. Was she strip searched by a male officer because of her race? Same answer, she offers nothing to counter the chief’s claim that they are equal opportunity offenders. And to counter or even correct my willful ignorance, you offer absolutely nothing, except empty canned jingoisms. My supposed privilege prevents me from absorbing counterfactuals which evidently exist but are never presented.
              This entitled Princeton professor simply cannot accept responsibility for violating the law and suffering the embarrassing consequences so she ignores the facts and plays the race card, which is unfortunately too easy to do right now.

              1. Apparently, you still did not read or comprehend the post. She took full responsibility for not paying the ticket and going over the speed limit, which neither is being disputed in this instance. No, you do not have a “suppose” privilege, but actual privilege due to your skin color. There is no such thing as playing a race card, but racism it does exist. There is no such thing as “playing the race card” when it comes to making an accurate or rational evaluation of the socioeconomic and political plight of 45 million Black Americans. It is nothing more than a routine disingenuous tactic of those who want to justify the systemic racial oppression of Black Americans and others is to accuse the articulate victims of racism of “playing the race card.” You would rather argue her actions while neglecting to deal with race.

                1. thanks for confirming that you don’t have a single piece of evidence for racism being a factor in how she was treated.

                  1. Yet, you did not present evidence that is was not racism. Out of all your post you never addressed racism one time. You have argued her actions over and over again. Go Figure!

    2. Her license was suspended! What was the cop supposed to do?

      DMV in NJ does not do this w/o notice .. and it was three years? Same with the parking tickets — they send multiple notices before you get to suspension.

      Blame this crap on the NJ legislature. I don’t think you should get a suspension for unpaid parking tickets — but the legislature wants the cash to flow.

      She disregarded many notices to get to the point of arrest.

    3. JV, she’s driving around without a valid drivers license? and driving through Princeton at 67 mph? Do you drive without a license? do you drive that fast in Princeton? Unfortunately police officers who arrest anyone are putting their personal safety at risk so they use handcuffs and they can’t cater to every whim of the person being arrested. what does that have to do with race?

    4. White privilege? What a joke. She is NOT speaking the truth when she’s inflating the truth to support her agenda of black victimization. There was nothing outrageous about her situation.

  28. Welcome to Princeton the land of being PC. If you are an illegal alien oh sorry undocumented you are shielded from a federal LAW in Princeton. If you are a minority you can question anything the police do. We praise the police as long as it fits the liberal establishment agenda. I feel for the police in this town having to deal with all the Bernie & Hillary supporters singing Kumbaya and banning plastic bags.

  29. Her personal feelings about her arthritic wrists are immaterial.. That she was handcuffed to a table over a parking ticket entirely material. It’s obscene. Anyone white or black, or brown, or red, who has experienced this bizarre police response ought to speak out. How have people been treated, in Princeton, New Jersey, over an unpaid parking ticket?

    1. Ok so the police should get them popcorn and cotton candy and maybe a lollipop. When someone is arrested it is a standard procedure they have to follow. It has been this way forever the only thing that has changed is how wimpy and unwilling to take responsibility for their actions people have become in this country.

      1. What exactly do you know about “standard procedure” and how long it has been the standard? And where do you form this base of knowledge about the standard procedure, particularly as it relates to Princeton Police?

    2. Unfortunately, the DMV’s will issue a warrant for unpaid parking tickets. It’s the NJ’s legislature making sure the money flows. The article does not state why her PA license was suspended — that’s a whole other matter. Philadelphia cops routinely impound cars when people have suspended DL.

      The table was most likely a “station” — it’s the warrant that was the problem … Not paying tickets in your own town is foolish

    3. Sandra Bland was not handcuffed to a table when she was arrested….she managed to kill herself. They are secured for their own safety.

  30. What no one has mentioned, either the professor or the police, is whether she was read her rights. Until and unless she is read her rights, ie is formally charged, she has no right to call anyone–an attorney, for instance. That’s just the law. One does wonder why she never did pay her parking tickets: As a Princeton University professor, she’s certainly making enough money to do so. Does she think she’s above paying her parking tickets?

    1. Nothing you said is accurate. Don’t get your law from cop shows. Try not to make assumptions about what is going on in other people’s minds, and try not pose assertions in the form of a question.

    2. Sigh. Miranda only applies when two things happen: 1) custody; PLUS 2) interrogation. If the police don’t want to question you, you don’t have to be given your Miranda warnings.

  31. Why in the world would you just copy and paste her Facebook? She isn’t speaking to the press because it is clear she wants to control the narrative and not have to answer hard questions. Congrats, you just helped her do it.

    She had a warrant. She got the exact same treatment everyone with a warrant gets. She wanted to be treated special, she didn’t get it, so she is playing the race card.

  32. I’ve got one question Why is a well employed person have outstanding tickets for 3 years? Warrants were probably outstanding so you get arrested. Now the pat down by a msle officer is wrong. A female officer should have been called to do a pat down.

  33. So…wait…is she really qualified to be a professor? She is purposely lying in her Twitter posts. The story is simple:

    She was speeding 67 in a 45 zone. That is pretty terrible on its own. That is over the legal interstate speed of 65, yet she was doing it on a crowded city street. Think bikes, kids, pedestrians all milling through hundreds of intersections. She deserved to be pulled over.

    She was pulled over and it was discovered that she had lost her driving privileges. That is certainly criminal: to operate a motor vehicle while your license is suspended. She deserved to be investigated.

    She was investigated and they discovered she had unpaid parking tickets. Not one as she states, but two. It seems petty, but the law requires the officer to arrest her and process at the station.

    She is processed according to standard procedure which now includes securing her so she cannot harm herself (like that Sandra Bland). Remember that Sandra was arrested for a traffic violation and hanged herself while being processed because she was NOT secured. People do crazy things when under stress, and securing them to the bar is always a good idea.

    So…we have a scofflaw professor endangering all the people on the street down which she was speeding. Then she lies about the experience on her Twitter page.

    I ask again: Is she qualified to be a professor? I don’t think so.

  34. I am a white female. When I was a seminary student I stopped one afternoon to ask a police officer for assistance. As a matter of routine he took down my information. Latter that evening two police officers appeared at my door to arrest me for an outstanding traffic ticket. I was not allowed to make a phone call. I was handcuffed, shackled, patted down by a male officer, transported in a police cruiser, put into a cell, and held until a friend came with $500 in cash to have me released (over a $25 ticket.) What Dr. Perry experienced was not racism. It was the law. For her to even hint that it was an act of racism degrades and belittles those who have been truly oppressed by a biased policing system. Shame on her for trying to insert herself in this way into a very important conversation about ongoing race problems.

    1. Thanks for sharing this, Georgia Young. I am a white female and I had a similar experience in Princeton for a similar violation. I was handcuffed, patted down (however by a female officer), taken to the station for mug shots and booking. I recall feeling demeaned and humiliated, mostly mad at myself for letting a simple matter go unresolved. Recalling my feelings at the time, since I’m generally not a person “in trouble with the law” for a couple of days I felt a bit shaken and overwhelmed with the experience. I believe that racism in police enforcement – both explicit and subtle – exists and needs to be addressed by our society as a whole. I also believe that examining racism in one’s practices is a life long exercise of examination – that those without an intent to be racism might still be acting racist and we all need to constantly learn and become aware of how systemic racism works. As a female, I know how pervasive sexism exists at all levels, subtle and explicit, intended and unintended, conscious and unconscious, and I know it has impact. From experience of sexism, I try to understand how racism feels and is perpetrated. From my experience with my arrest, and how surprising it was to find myself on the “other” side of the law, I do not hold it against anyone who may have experienced the same, who may happen to be “non-white”, if they felt there was a racist component. Because I’m “white” and had a similar experience, I find myself in this case less concerned that the situation was a manifestation of racism. But that doesn’t mean I call foul for someone non-white who might feel there was racism, its not an unreasonable leap given the experience of “people of color” in our society generally, I just believe based on my experience, that racism was less likely to be a factor in Perry’s case as I understand the details. I don’t want to flame people for “playing the race card”, and think that racism is unadressed more than it is addressed. Being handcuffed and booked for what feels like a “paper crime” or administrative failure, is not pleasant. I happen to have the advantage of perspective of knowing that it also happened to me, a “white” person. I also have to add that I believe speeding in town is a very serious offense. I support our police in rigorously enforcing laws against reckless and dangerous driving.

      1. The police should enforce laws. Speeding is a serious offense and should be published. At the same time, the town shouldn’t be issuing warrants for unpaid parking tickets.

        The professor was arrested not for speeding, but for the parking tickets. That’s what is wrong here.

        1. No. The Professor was arrested for “Contempt of Court” which is what they issue the warrant for when you don’t pay your tickets. The arresting officers don’t have a choice to not arrest you just because it was a parking ticket. I am not belittling Dr. Perry’s discomfort at being arrested, but this happens frequently all across the US, to people of all walks of like. It has nothing to do with her being a professor, a woman, or black. It has to do with busy lives and forgetting to pay a minor ticket and then paying the consequences later. If people are really upset about it they should work to change the law.

          1. Yes, the law should be changed. That’s what I believe Dr. Perry was really suggesting.

      2. Parking Violator – you have provided a very intelligent comment that sums up my thoughts exactly. I hope others will read your post more closely, especially all the seemingly privileged commentators who don’t recognize racism (and probably would deny the existence of sexual harassment, antisemitism, gay discrimination) – because it has never happened to them.

        Like you, I would hate to be arrested and handcuffed for a paper crime, e.g., in Princeton, an unpaid fine for putting out leaves and branches on the street more than a couple days before pickup. Even worse, considering that the car I drive is registered in my wife’s name, and that I can be forgetful, if I was to get a parking ticket and forget to pay, her license could be revoked and if she is pulled for anything, off to the station in handcuffs. If she was on her way to pick up our young son from school or an activity, she could not call anyone to take care of him. While I can’t really blame the police for this as they are just following procedures, is this how we should live in America, a country based on freedom? I don’t believe so and we need to change the laws in NJ.

      1. Ohio. Arrested at Ashland Theological Seminary and transported to Oberlin, OH. It was in the local paper (police blotter) that I had been arrested for “Contempt of Court” which is what the actual charge is when you have unpaid tickets. She was fortunate that NJ lets you just pay the ticket at the time of arrest. I had to go to a court hearing. And stand in front of my congregation (as the Youth Pastor) and explain to them why my name was in the paper for being arrested for contempt.

    2. Yup. I’m an old white guy and the same thing happened to be in South Carolina. I had neglected a traffic hearing and as is customary a bench warrant was issued for me. Totally my fault. Stupid of me to neglect it.

  35. Wait, hold up the Police Chief went to her job to speak about it. Do they go to white folks jobs to complain or explain they procedure!!

    1. NJ needs to link unpaid parking tickets to the DMV car registration so they collect their money within the year and not waste resources for a MINOR offense

    2. For PARKING TICKETS? I’ll bet I could cite HUNDREDS of instances of people with suspended licenses who were not arrested, but merely given citations.

  36. It will be telling to see the Princeton Police Dept. produce records citing how many WHITE Princeton Professors have been arrested for TWO outstanding parking tickets – or any other white people at all. In all honesty, I have NEVER heard of the police ANYWHERE arresting someone just for two unpaid parking tickets EVER. The arresting officer and the Princeton Police Dept. must be made to state exactly WHY Prof. Perry was arrested and further humiliated over such a pair of paltry, low level misdemeanors that would normally warrant only another citation and a summons. Impounding her car can be justified. Arresting her cannot.

    1. Unpaid parking tickets eventually lead to revocation of driver’s license. People who weren’t paying attention to that consequence of not attending to overdue parking tickets may continue to drive with a revoked license and then are pulled over for driving while revoked. Its not clear to me that the police automatically even know why a license is revoked, they may just know the license has been revoked and not know if it was revoked for failure to pay child support, cumulative DWIs or speeding tickets or parking tickets. If a person is speeding and also driving with a revoked license, the arrest is proper.

      1. There are countless examples of people with revoked driver’s licenses who are not arrested, but merely given citations and maybe have their car impounded. The arrest and subsequent treatment of Prof. Perry seems an extreme overreaction to what is ultimately pretty inconsequential charges.

    2. Did you read the whole article?
      Arrest warrants are issued by the court. Not by the police. The police do not have discretion over whether to arrest someone with an outstanding warrant. She was also driving with a suspended license.
      Profiling works both ways: well-dressed, well-spoken black woman doesn’t get cuffed, but black kid with saggy pants does? Is that kind of profiling ok in your book? (I don’t think so) That’s why middle class white people are just shocked shocked shocked when they get handcuffed just like the saggy-pants black kid does. That’s what non-profiling is all about. Everyone gets handcuffed.

      1. Well said Sprinday2 ! According to one of the posts above you should feel guilty for not being a minority. Progressive Agenda

      2. Agreed. The commenters here are blissfully unaware that their own sense of privilege is on display.

    3. The PD arrested her because she had an outstanding warrant. A warrant is a court order signed by a judge direcing law enforcement to arrest someone.

      1. But if the police pull over a disproportionate number of minorities, then they would be arresting a disproportionate number of minorities. It’s just my experience, but it seems half of the people pulled over on Nassau Street are people of color.

        1. So the police should look the other way when they see a minority driver going 20+ mph over the posted speed limit? Or would you rather have white people break the law more often to get the averages back up?
          Her race had nothing to do with this. She got pulled over for reckless driving and her inaction to take care of a petty parking ticket and suspension of her driving licence is what got her arrested.

        2. The police pull over a disproportionate number of people driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit.

  37. REGARDLESS of how the pat down was conducted, the fact remains that the entire stop was over TWO PARKING TICKETS! We’re talking the lowest level misdemeanors possible. WHY should she be subjected to such treatment over something so petty? It seems highly probable that the arresting officer made assumptions about Prof. Perry being in a swanky neighborhood in which she did not belong. Unless the Princeton PD can show a pattern of arresting white Princeton Professors – or any white people at all – over infractions so incredibly minor, it appears that this indeed was racially motivated.

    1. She was doing 67 in 45 mph residential area and driving with a suspended license and a warrant out for her arrest for the latter & the 2 x 2 year old tickets. Get the facts straight. And yes the Police do arrest and handcuff anyone with a court ordered warrant (parking ticket or otherwise). I was arrested and handcuffed for one unpaid parking ticket – same exact thing. This is NOT about race. The argument can be made (and should) that an arrest warrant for unpaid parking tickets is excessive / this has to be dealt with the State Legislature and should. Even if the ticket warrant were not the law, she would have been arrested anyway for the other TWO infractions, driving with a Suspended License and doing 67 in a 45 mph residential area. She deserves what she got. I know I did, as it is the law and the Police are just doing their jobs.

      1. I’m sorry that you were also arrested over an unpaid parking ticket.

        It’s really shocking how these comments have focused on race rather than on how the law is being carried out.

        We should not be arresting people for unpaid parking tickets. There are better ways to collect those fines that do not raise the issues that arrests do.

        1. She wasn’t arrested for an unpaid parking ticket. She was arrested for failure to appear and deal with a bench warrant for over 2 years. You would be arrested for that too, and you should be. I was arrested in a very similar circumstance a few years ago. I had neglected a hearing for failure to carry proof of insurance. It was my fault, not the cop’s, that I got arrested. The cops can not and should not sort this stuff out on the street. Take the person to the station and let the people there or the magistrate sort it out.

        2. I have a suggestion. Suppose those receiving parking tickets pay the fee. Suppose when notified, by nail, of outstanding fines they pay the fines. Suppose they do not ignore the tickets, fines and notifications leading to arrest warrants. That would certainly streamline the system doing away with the need for warrants altogether.

        3. As a Princeton resident I would have thought you would be against cars doing over 20mph above the speed limit in your community. Yes there are more important things for the police to do – like take people who think the laws do not apply to them off the streets. Parking tickets led to notices in the mail which were ignored. Ignored notices led to notice of suspension, which were ignored. 45mph sign was ignored, which led to being pulled over. Pulling speeders over is a safety issue to everyone. Being pulled over led to arrest. Arrest led to pat down. Attitude probably led to being cuffed to a table. ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. That’s what I taught my children. Apparently her parents failed to teach her that.

    2. The stop was for driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit. The arrest was for a warrant. The warrant was issued due to a failure to appear. Her license was suspended due to her failure to appear.

      1. In Ohio, 20+ mph over the speed limit is an automatic Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle and 6 points on your license. Most insurance companies would drop your insurance because it is such a serious offense.

      2. Actually, we know that it wasn’t for the failure to appear for the Princeton parking tickets. So, it appears that Dr. Perry’s contempt for the law goes farther than just Princeton parking tickets

    3. You have to be kidding me. How about, prove that it WAS racially motivated, before making such crazy claims.

    4. You are wrong. 22 mph over speed limit led to the stop. Then suspended license discovered. Then warrant discovered. By law in the jurisdiction, arrest required.

    5. The arrest was not for JUST TWO PARKING TICKETS! It was her pattern of disrespect of the law. We are a NATION OF LAWS. No person is above the law, not even a privileged black ivy league professor! 1) Parking tickets 2) Notice of parking tickets 3) Notice of license suspension 3) 45mph sign ignored by over 20mph.
      I did not go to Princeton, but I see a pattern here!

    6. Did you watch and listen to the dash cam videos? Ms. Perry used artistic license in the description of her arrest. If you had listened you would have heard not only was she speeding, but she was also driving with a suspended license. That is a problem for anyone, not just the racially profiled.

    7. What an ignorant comment. As it is not a criminal offense, parking tickets can not be misdemeanors. Dr. Perry was targeted because she was speeding, no assumptions made. And, the Princeton PD does not have show any such pattern to exonerate itself from fallacious accusations of racism. There was no racial motivation evidenced.

  38. I can’t read all that – but I totally support her, she had parking tickets, should have paid them, but was disproportionately treated…cops need to be humans…

    1. Let me translate this- I can’t be bothered to read about the issue but will support her because he knows for a fact that she was disproportrtionately treated without reading anything.and cops apparently are not humans.

      1. Incorrect fool, I read over two thirds, and it kept going with her comments. If anyone does not know what disproportionate it, wake the F up.

    2. Disproportionate to what? Did the cop have a choice? Should cops on the street decide what warrants to enforce and what to ignore? That’s what you are asking for.

        1. Two of the many duties of the police is to enforce the law and carry out arrest warrants. From what I have read, they did preform in a professional manner with the professor.
          She broke the law by speeding, so they pulled her over. She broke the law by not paying the fines for the parking tickets. She broke the law for driving with a suspended licence. That is why she was arrested, plain and simple.
          For them not to arrest her for all those infractions of the law and ignore the arrest warrant would be highly unprofessional, for that would be a dereliction of their duty.

          1. Completely off topic. But, we share a dyslexia in our spelling of perform. Where you type preform, I type perfrom…lol

        2. You’re clearly wrong. She decided against paying two tickets. Two. Even if it was 1 she still decided against it. She can’t claim she didn’t see either one. She knew and decided not to pay. Then she drove 67 in a 45. She has a bench warrant. The cops didn’t issue her warrant. They have to enforce it black or white.

          People like you destroy the message for the real victims. Keep it up and nobody will care.

  39. Princeton Police announce they will now invite people with a warrant back to the police station in a luxury sedan and once in the station they will meditate with the officer and contemplate their feelings with an herbal tea. The officer will then perform a quick magic show and dance routine while the person detained makes phone calls and posts to Twitter and Facebook about their experience. If the detainee in any way feels intimidated they will be transported back to their vehicle to carry on their trip but not after being given tickets to a fabulous broadway show for their troubles. This is SARCASM some people might actually believe this. Well the council may discuss it since this is how progressive California does it. Oh yeah I forgot the popcorn machine in the station will have fresh popcorn an peanuts too!

    1. The new progressive defense to everything is to call everyone racist that does not confirm to their view of the world.

    2. Some of the -whatever creed & screed – overly offended scofflaws should have to do some police station duty themselves in public service payment for their misdeeds.

  40. Look, maybe she was hypersensitive, or maybe she’s right. I’m willing to wait and see. And if it turns out she was hypersensitive, go know…she wouldn’t be the first hypersensitive person I’d met of any race.

    What I don’t get how many people are moved to comment so splenetically about how non-racial their point of view is. The depth of resentment being expressed is evidence of, if not racism, than at least a very deep well of racial consciousness and suspicion.

    I mean, what is the motivation to comment about how outrageous it is that someone might find an element of racial discomfort in Princeton? I’m white, and Princeton’s whiteness makes ME uncomfortable.

    And why is THIS the issue that moves so many people to comment, when on any given day the level of comment is so low?

    It’s like people are just ^waiting^ for an opportunity to spew their justifiable grievance, like people in an unhappy relationship just ^waiting^ for their partner to make a false move and give them an excuse to blow up.

    It’s pretty depressing, honestly.

    1. My posts are getting deleted by Krystal because I commented on the above posters whiteness making her uncomfortable. Krystal you shouldn’t censor posts only because you don’t like them. There was nothing offensive and we are all adults.

    2. Culex – Thank you for using the word splenetically. You have elevated my knowledge of the English language. For that I thank you!

  41. Sweetheart: You are NOT above the law. If you break the law you have to suffer the consequence. Stop playing the race card to divert from the facts!

  42. Unbelievable. Someone with a rap sheet resists arrest and then tries to pretend SHE is the victim. Only in America.

    1. Wonder if this is what she teaches in her class at princeton. Small p emphasized. Wonder how accepting she would be to a white person in her class.

  43. I read the full details in another story. It said she was going 60 something in a 45 zone and had unpaid tickets for which a warrant had been issued. She needs to acknowledge that actions like that have consequences. I know people who have been arrested for similar actions who are white males. This is not about race, but about thinking you are above the law (most likely because she is a professor at an Ivy League school).

  44. She was driving on a suspended license which means that her state required auto insurance was not in effect. A precondition for a valid auto insurance to be in effect is that the driver have a valid and active operator’s license. So besides the speeding ticket , she had outstanding warrants , driving w/o insurance, and unpaid tickets. Had she caused an accident due to speeding , she would have no insurance coverage. If she had injured someone , they would have been out of luck except for what they could have collected from her. Sounds like a menace to society to me

  45. Wonder how she handles her students in class? I mean, if they don’t take a test or turn in a paper at the required date/time….do they still get an “A”? Or does she fail them because they did NOT take care of their given responsibility. Is there no accountability for your actions? With this type of rational, I can complain about my grades regardless if I do nothing for an entire year…

    A well educated lady should (and she does have the means) pay her fines and ensure she has the proper license to drive. Take care of those tickets and then she probably would of gotten a speeding ticket or a warning. We will never know, because this society we live in has zero accountability. Frankly, disturbing that she is teaching….

  46. Not sure what the police did wrong here other then arrest someone who thinks she is above the law! Since she is in the privilege class because she is a full Professor at Princeton; she should be a law abiding citizen too!

    1. Females should not be patted down by police. She was. She was supposed to have been allowed a phone call. She wasn’t. It’s not the fact that she was arrested, but HOW she was arrested. Her treatment was excessive and unnecessary. She does not deny that she should have payed the ticket but if you think that an arrest for a simple ticket should be as inappropriate as this one was you are part of the issue.

      1. Sandra, I trust all of your doctors are female, and you know nothing about when a person being placed under arrest is entitled to a phone call. There has been a lot of discussion here. Perhaps you should read more and catch up.

      2. She was not arrested for a parking ticket. She was arrested for thinking she was exempt for following society’s laws. She has shown a pattern by ignoring the tickets, notices, and speeding. Let’s see the video and I am sure there was much more disrespect.

  47. Shame on you. Even though you know you are guilty , you are playing like an innocent person. You don’t deserve to be a professor. You are not educated. Just by taking some courses and passing some test you should not consider yourself educated and deserve any respect. It is not your skin color which got you in trouble,it is your lack of understanding that if you do not follow the law you are guilty no matter who you are and how you got your degree which is just a piece of paper.Shame on those who hired you and put you in charge of leading and educating our talented young students.

  48. Her point of view: she is affluent in an “affluent suburb” and should not have been treated that way. So, white privilege is bad, but class privilege should be required.

  49. The main thing about Professor Perry’s concerns that hit closest to home for me was the fact that she was “patted down” by male police officers. This is 2016 and we should be above treating women this way. It would not surprise me to find out that whoever did this, got ‘a little too close’ where he should not have.’ As women, we need to stand up for each other when we are wronged. As Maya Angelou said “I am a feminist. I’ve been a female for a long time now. It’d be stupid not to be on my own side.

  50. This kind of arrest happens all over the country every day. Also it is standard procedure for suspects to be “patted down” prior to being put in the car. Also, checking a person for warrents is standard procedure during a traffic stop. Also, once a warrent is issued sworn officers are required to honor it. It might have been better for the female officer to do the “pat down”, but from what we know this doesn’t appear to be about race.

    1. You post gleaned over the entire purpose of the post. It was about her being treated unfairly and not about the tickets. You have a bias agenda.

      1. I think it’s YOU that has a biased agenda. How was she treated unfairly exactly (other than, IMO, she should’ve been patted down by the female officer but then again I don’t know what the law is in that regard for Princeton)? Special rights is not equal rights and that appears to be what she, and you, expect. Go figure!

        1. I do not have a bias agenda. She was treated unfairly in many instances such as being patted down by a male officer. It is pretty standard that same sex officer pat suspects down. She was handcuffed to a table, which the chief stated that everyone is not handcuffed to the table. Equal rights mean that no one will be afforded special treatment because of your race, sex, or etc.

  51. This is a perfect example for the officers to seek redress. Allow a third party investigation. Allow the release of the Audio/Video tapes of the incident and arrest. When all is said and done have the officers Fraternal Organization begin Civil Proceedings against the complainant for slandering the officers reputations.
    At the very least I certainly hope the institution that is Princeton University takes a long hard look at the continuning employment of this bigot.

    1. No one knows who the officer was and how is her statement slandering? You post is a perfect example of a person supporting police regardless of their actions. Go Figure!

      1. She is the perfect example of an individual who, simply because of her race, feels she deserves treatment different than the “normal” citizen would receive. Her lies concerning the reasons for her arrest and treatment should be addressed in a slanderous civil suit.

        1. I do not understand your post. You are presenting a narrative that is not reflective of America. It would make sense if all people were treated equal, when it does not happen especially concerning police. She never expressed any desire to be treated different than anyone, but does feel that she was treated unfairly. I do not know of any lies you post about since she did take full responsibility for her actions such as the tickets. No one name was slandered.

      1. What do you mean screw her rights? She had a warrant for her arrest, was even told she could pay the fine and get a ride to campus so she could work. If you have a warrant for your arrest, you get arrested, it doesn’t matter what skin color you are!!!

  52. This lady is not saying the arrest wasn’t warranted but procedurally it wasn’t right. Phone call aside a female officer should have patted her down not a male. This not only maintains the dignity of the citizen but protects the integrity of the department against frivolous allegations of groping and other forms of sexual misconduct. Put your mother, daughter or sister in her position. Traffic violations does not make you a criminal.

    1. He patted down her pockets of her jacket and checked her shoes, He wasn’t searching for a Beretta in her vagina. Seriously.

    2. “Now, make no mistake, I do not believe I did anything wrong. But even if I did, my position holds”…

      Looks like she does believe she has done nothing wrong. At some point, I do hope we all learn to take responsibility for our actions…

    3. I agree that the female officer should’ve patted her down but she was, by definition, a criminal. Obviously not a serious criminal but what she did is considered a crime. Definition:

      crim·i·nal
      noun

      1. a person who has committed a crime.

  53. Would be nice to hear from, or see the video, of a white member of that community who has had a similar encounter. Were they treated the same?

    1. I have been arrested before and it is standard procedure to be handcuffed to a bench or table while being processed. And she was lucky to have such polite officers some aren’t so polite.

        1. One day the phone rang, a Mass State Police Officer wanted to talk about my nomination for s statewide panel on media. I had been nominated. He asked about the two outstanding warrants out on me.

          We figured out it was a speeding ticket I asked for a court hearing and never heard back. Silly me for forgetting about it. When I did not show up for court, they issued a warrant out of Northampton. Few years later they built a new state police barracks in Springfield and moved the warrant closer to my address.

          He laughed, said go to the court, pay $50 be done with it. That is what I did.

          Did not make the panel.

    2. Yes. I was treated exactly the same way. On one warrant arrest for a seatbelt ticket, I was arrested as I walked down Nassau Street. Was I upset about it? Yes, at myself for not taking responsibility for paying the ticket previously.

  54. Ok first of all she was speeding, 67mph in a 45mph zone. She had warrants for unpaid tickets. She had a suspended license. But still she contends she did nothing wrong. For someone that is supposed to be intelligent and a college professor she is pretty dumb. And a liar as well.

  55. She never said she did not do anything wrong. You should try reading the article again. She said she feel that she was treated unfair. Go Figure!

    1. “Now, make no mistake, I do not believe I did anything wrong. But even if I did, my position holds”…

      Looks like she does believe she has done nothing wrong. At some point, I do hope we all learn to take responsibility for our actions.

      1. You took a small portion of an entire quote and shorten it to fit your narrative. The rest of it stated she was treated unfairly by the police, race aside. No one can take you serious if you are willing to present untruths and lies in order to continue to spread misinformation.

        1. “shorten it to fit your narrative”
          The narrative was disputing that Dr. Perry did not claim that she didn’t do anything wrong. You added the racial component to fit your narrative. Since you disregarded a contextual quote, you have shown that your opinion on this matter should not be taken seriously.

  56. This is more about the arrogance and associated perceived right to privilege that this woman represents. She is clearly guilty of irresponsible and illegal behavior and thinks she should, for some reason, NOT be held accountable for her actions. She was treated no differently than any other offender and yet she squawks discrimination. Her actions and her subsequent tweets are an embarrassment to the University and a set back for the cause of black people.

  57. My God this woman can spew forth just endless reams of BS about this. Actually though, when you consider that’s what she does for a living, she can probably do it at the drop of a hat.

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