Black Judge Learns he Has No Power in Backseat of Cop Car: Assaulted by UCLA Police after Stop for Seat Belt Violation

White over Black System. According to the Code, 'the very existence of white supremacy automatically eliminates the possibility of any non-white person being so-called "upper class" or "middle class" in his or her relationship to any person, any place. Non-white people are all in "subject class", and or the "powerless class." [MORE] Victims of white supremacy have no power and are rarely in a position to make demands- defense attorneys, civil libertarians and Black public officials should keep this in mind: 

From [HERE] and [HERE] A prominent Black Los Angeles Superior Court judge has filed a complaint against the University of California, Los Angeles police squad for excessive force after a stop for a traffic violation. Judge David S. Cunningham III was stopped over the weekend leaving a gym where he says a UCLA officer roughed him up for not wearing a seat belt. Cunningham is also a former LAPD Commissioner. [MORE] 

According to the complaint Cunningham buckled his seat belt when he was stopped and approached by a pair of officers. After providing his driver’s license, the judge was asked for his registration and proof of insurance, but he could not find them.

While reaching for the documents, according to the complaint, an officer began to yell at him not to move and then a prescription bottle of high blood pressure medicine rolled out. One of the officers asked the judge if he was running drugs, alleges the complaint. Cunningham couldn't find the paperwork in the glove compartment and told officers he thought it might be in the trunk. According to the complaint Cunningham got out of the car to search his trunk for the documents when Officer Kevin Dodd slammed him against his car. 

Cunningham, 60, said the officers locked him in the back of their police cruiser and told him he was being detained for resisting arrest. Douglas said the judge was tossed into the back of the police cruiser with such force that his feet flew up in the air. The second officer, identified as James Kim, accused the judge of "kicking," Douglas said. Cunningham suffered nerve damage from handcuffs placed too tightly on him - and was humiliated and demeaned on the street as a crowd was gathered to see what the police were doing. 

A Los Angeles Police Department sergeant arrived and allowed Cunningham to go free after about 10 minutes. The sergeant who treated the Judge humanely was Black. Douglas raised the possibility of race being at issue at the stop, stating in a Los Angeles Times report, “”Do you think this would have happened if he was a white judge?”

No Power. To the extent that you might be dealing with a racist police officer, attempt to comply with orders. In face to face confrontations with police, white supremacy is your reality. All of your so-called rights may be dealt with later in court - should they allow it. Nevertheless, avoid incriminating yourself or participating in your own oppression.

Cunningham is not filing his complaint based on racial profiling, but instead the excessive force used to detain him before the arrival of the LAPD. Cunningham has served in his Superior Court post since 2009 after being appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ironically, Cunningham also served as the president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners as well.

Douglas said, Cunningham became concerned about what the officers might do to him. Regardless of any directions the judge may have been given, it doesn't justify the use of force, he said.

Judge Cunningham laments: “I am shaken, battered and bruised by this ordeal. I fear that I have sustained serious nerve damage in my wrists. I am still not able to walk out of my house without feeling greatly apprehensive. I have reviewed hundreds of use-of-force complaints over the course of my five-year term on the Police Commission. I never realized what a profound effect such a negative encounter could have on some one; until it happened to me.” [MORE]

UCLA released a preemptive statement Sunday regarding the stop and arrest, but fell short of offering any declarative statement at the time.