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DWB: Was This Black Man Stopped by Police for Reading in His Car?

Will Black bodies ever be safe in North America?

A Black man in Canada recently experienced an unfortunate run-in with the cops. Louizandre Dauphin is the Bathurst, New Brunswick, director of parks, recreation and tourism. After a long week of work and news of the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Dauphin felt like he needed to leave his apartment and get some fresh air.  

That’s when he decided to leave his home and read a book by the wharf. He posted on Instagram, “I decided to take a drive to the Stonehaven Wharf and sit by the water on this cold, rainy July day and try to pacify my mind by reading the works of Timothy Keller and C.S. Lewis.”

While he sat, reading in his car, apparently some people found his presence threatening and called the police. On his drive home, Dauphin was stopped by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.

Dauphin wrote in the same Instagram post:

“Thankfully, he is kind and respectful and asks me the usual questions; where I'm from and where I'm going. I tell him that I was at the Stonehaven Wharf reading a book pointing to the two books in the passenger seat. He smiles and says that a few citizens in Janeville called the police because of a suspicious Black man in a white car was parked at the Wharf for a couple hours.”

After the conclusion of their conversation, the officer let Dauphin go; however, Dauphin feels that his experience was similar to that of the Black American.

“We can't be so quick to point fingers or feel we're more exceptional than our American counterparts," Dauphin said. “[My experience] is just a reminder that no matter where we go in this country, there can be profiling or suspicion.”

It is surprising to know that even in a country like Canada, which has always been thought to be more civilized when it comes to race relations; a Black man can still be pulled over for simply reading in his car. 

You can read the full post by Dauphin below. 

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