An Alaskan police officer is under investigation after being found in a photo with a woman flashing a “White Privilege” card, according to The Associated Press. The picture was taken during a traffic stop when the MAGA-hat-wearing woman was pulled over. She handed the officers the card instead of her license and registration.
In this case, her lil’ white privilege pass worked.
Mimi Israelah made a Facebook post claiming she was pulled over for weaving on the road. She had come into town from California for a Trump rally. She said “Officer Bo” asked her for her license but when she couldn’t find it she handed him a “White Privilege Card Trumps Everything” card instead.
“When I saw my White Privilege card, I gave to him if it’s ok. He laughed and called his partner. It’s their first time to see a White Privileged (sic) card,” she wrote.
Watch the video of the interaction via Twitter:
On Twitter, Israelah describes herself as Pinay, of Filipino descent. Her Facebook post about the traffic stop was deleted but in the video, she confirms in a comment she didn’t receive a ticket. Black Alaska officials responded with concern given the blatant disparity in how Black drivers are treated by police versus white drivers.
From AP News:
Celeste Hodge Growden, president of the Alaska Black Caucus, an advocacy group for Black people and Indigenous people of color, said: “When you’re not able to recognize Black lives, you just don’t get to all lives.”
Hodge Growden said she was disappointed by the picture. She also wants to know what the consequences were for Israelah if she didn’t have her driver’s license and was weaving while driving.
“I know that there are people of color that weave and they get ticketed,” she said. “They don’t have that white privilege, get-out-of-a-citation card.”
An Anchorage police spokesperson told AP News in a statement that the incident is “currently under investigation” and related to “personnel matters.” Police Chief Michael Kerle responded to the incident via the department website.
“I know we are all human. But we belong to a profession that does not tolerate, practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination. This profession requires our employees to treat everyone with respect and be culturally aware and competent,” Kerle wrote. Well let’s see what happens if a Black person tries to use a “white privilege” card to get out of a ticket.