Look below to find more informaton and links.  The following account 
was written on Thursday, 8 March 2001 and updated on 16 March 
2001.  I would appreciate any assistance, advice, encouragement, 
and/or support that you can give me.  Thanks.  Take care.  My e-mail 
is at the  bottom.  It is kind of long too...    
  

Hello everyone, how are yall doing?  This is Irucka Ajani Embry and I
am a student at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville.  I can be 
reached at iembry@utk.edu.  I'm doing alright myself right now, kind
of uneasy and a little shaken up and scared, but that's it.  I would 
like for you to send this e-mail out to anyone that you wish to, for 
the purposes of protection, as well as education and someone may have
went through a similar experience as myself as well.  This is not the
first experience that I have had dealing with police officers, but I 
guess want to write about this one for now.  I am sorry if anyone 
receives this e-mail message twice.  Let me go ahead and start.

Some background information: Here at the University of Tennessee in 
Knoxville, there were two sets of armed robberies in Morrill Hall, 
the hall that I am referring to below.  There are two alleged suspects
that are in police custody, or were, from a local college in 
Knoxville, Knoxville College.  I read in the Daily Beacon, the UT 
newspaper, that the UT Police Chief Yovella wanted to pin both of the
armed robberies on the two alleged suspects that they had/have in 
custody.  Both of the suspects are male, and Black.  Since the second
or first armed robbery in that dorm, Morrill Hall, there have been 
surveillance camera pictures printed out with a description of the 
alleged suspects with what they were wearing that night in the 
surveillance video.  These pictures were placed up all over campus, 
especially within the dorms.  And at that hall, Morrill Hall, UT 
police officers and possibly some Knoxville police officers have been
sitting "guard" in the hall in the lobby as well, and they are 
rearranging the Hall and it slightly resembles more of a "prison" than
it did before.  In the Daily Beacon, UT Police Chief Yovella stated 
that the officers are in Morrill Hall at night.  But, I eat there in 
the cafeteria and I know that the officers are in the Hall during the
Day and at Night.  Now, the officers have begun to stand and sit 
"guard" in the lobby of the dorm that I live in as well, Hess Hall.  
I had become used to the officer presence in my dorm, officers driving
by and checking in from time to time and leaving, but not just sitting
around in the dorm with their presence.      
[On a different note, I was told that in the Knoxville News Sentinel 
a couple of weeks ago that 5 people have been killed this year alone 
in Knoxville.  If the police are here to "protect and serve", who are
they "protecting and serving"?  Who is to protect us from them?  We 
can't touch them in their personal space, but they can do so to us.  
Why the contradiction?  We live in a police state, and we have allowed
that to happen.  What do we do about it?  We change the reality that 
exists now.  The police force has been constantly militarized over the
years with weapons and tactics and that increased with the former 
President Bill Clinton just within the last couple of years.  Who 
determines who looks "suspicious" and who doesn't look "suspicious"?
What rights do we have when an officer stops us?  What questions do 
we have to answer, if any?  I would appreciate any answers to these 
questions.  Thanks.]  The aforementioned is background information as 
well as the first following links.  I have included links from the UT
Police Department as well as the American Civil Liberties Union 
concerning police encounters, with such things as what are our rights.
I have read the first 4 links, the latter ones I have yet to do so, 
but I skimmed over them and they seemed helpful to myself and 
hopefully to others as well.  Please feel free to share with others.
         

Some links concerning the "police state"

Citizens for Police Review (CPR): 


Your Rights and the Police: 


Police investigate armed robbery: 


UT police look into reported armed robbery at Morrill Hall: 


Safety is highest priority of UTPD: 


University of Tennessee Police Department website: 


What Would You Do If the Police Stopped You?: 


Community Policing vs. Policing the Community: 


Stop Police Violence Action: The Antidote to Despair: 


ACLU pocket card on police encounters: 


If an Agent Knocks: Federal Investigators and Your Rights, Center for Constitutional Rights: 



NOW TO THE INCIDENT ITSLEF:

Check out the Daily Beacon, University of Tennessee in Knoxville 
student newspaper, Crime Log at http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/crimelog.php/113: 

to see the above  mentioned incident.  Below is the description in the Beacon on 
Friday, 9 March 2001.

Crime Log description: 
7:46 p.m. Officer was out with a suspicious person at Humes Hall.  Person checked out OK.


I entered the residence hall, Morrill Hall, and probably took the untied the
shirt from around my face and laid it out over my shoulders and probably took
off my gloves as well.  I don't remember the police officer that was on duty
when I arrived at the dorm.  That was probably around 6:30/7 PM when I arrived
there at the dorm, so that I could go to the cafeteria in the dorm to eat
dinner.  My face could be seen when I entered the hall and the cafeteria.
Around 8 PM, I was on my way out of the cafeteria to a meeting some distance
from Morrill Hall, where I had just finished eating dinner.  I do not remember
the temperature, yet I do remember that it was windy outside and thus my
hands, ears, and lower face were covered.  I had a shirt around my mouth and
nose, because I don't have a scarf.  A ski mask, because that is the only
toboggan type hat that I have, on my head and over my ears.  A lightweight
jacket on and also gloves, a pair of thick gloves, the only kind that I have,
thick ones.  All of this will make sense as you read on in the e-mail.  I left
out of the cafeteria and had to walk down the stairs into the lobby of Morrill
Hall and then out the door.  I tied the shirt around my mouth again, placed my
gloves on my hands, and also placed the ski mask back on my head.  The ski
mask was over my ears, and it stopped above my eyes.  Without looking closely
at the hat, at night, it probably would be difficult to see that it was a ski
mask.  And I proceeded to walk outside of Morrill Hall, as I had done several
nights over the last few weeks because it has been cool or cold at night.
That night I decided not to look for the police officer(s) that was stationed
in the Hall, sometimes I would, and just think about the "prison" that we are
creating for ourselves on this campus and in this country out of fear mainly.
I walked out of the Hall and just continued walking and make it not too far
from the Hall, when I heard someone saying for me to "Stop and Wait", it was a
male, Caucasian, police officer who said so.  I don't remember his exact words
though.  He then proceeded to ask me if I was a UT student, I politely and
calmly as I could told him that I was one.
I started to get a little worried and scared as he caught up to me, fearful of
being arrested or detained or being abused.  It sort of reminded me of the
beginning of "Light It Up", it's a good movie that makes a lot of sense and is
powerful.  I didn't think that I had forgot anything on the stairs or anything
like that, so I knew that he was coming up to me because of that.  I reached
into my pocket and pulled out my wallet and gave him my ID.  I kept my left
hand out of the glove and on my right hand, which still had a glove over it,
trying to keep the left hand warm.  I kept the wallet and glove in my left
hand; scared to make any sudden movements or anything like that.  I am glad
that I now Tai Chi and was able to keep from truly showing my anxiety, fear,
frustration, anger, fear, and overall uneasiness.  I breathed as slowly as
possible, trying to get rid of my "butterflies" and also to keep from
hyperventilating.  I just breathed and tried to stay calm and rational.  I
wanted to keep my voice at its normal volume and make it slower and continue
to be polite.  I didn't want to give them a reason to do anything, being that
I was alone and there were no people around.
He then proceeded to tell me that he stopped me because he couldn't see my
face and thus I looked "suspicious".  He never asked me to remove my ski mask
or the shirt; he called it a scarf, from my face so that he could see my full
face and match that to my UT identification with a picture and the Social
Security Number (tracking number) on it.  All that he could see were my eyes,
yet it was dark outside.  If he wanted to make sure that I was the person in
the picture and all he could see were my eyes, shouldn't he have asked to see
my whole face?  Also, he told me that I was suspicious because he couldn't see
my face at all, outside of my eyes.  He called dispatch on his walkie-talkie
and gave them the code for my name.  From my recollection, the names that he
used for the letters of my names are military introduced into the police force
and in other aspects as well.  Doing so, backup was dispatched and got there
within a few moments.  Either backup was waiting to be called in on this
matter, which I think was possible and will explain more of below, or they
were making their rounds around campus.  I believe that before the back up
arrived, I may be mistaken.  He asked dispatch to look for my Social Security
Number to see if I was a UT student.  At first, it sounded like, on the radio,
that they couldn't find my name as being a registered student.  That got me
even more worried.  Then, I did hear the person speaking to the officer say
that I lived in Hess Hall and proceeded as well to tell the officer my room
number as well.  I think that Dispatch found out I lived at Hess Hall and then
Hess Hall's Main Desk was contacted and implored about the room I live in.  I
am not for sure about that.  Why did he need to know my room number?  Did he
need to know that I lived on campus and in what dorm?  Wasn't his only purpose
to know if I was a UT student?  Yes, that was his purpose, but he got a whole
lot more out of that conversation than that.  Why?  I don't know.  I was
trying not to respond to his smart comments and stupid, trying to be funny
jokes.
When he spoke to dispatch, he told them what I was wearing.  He told them that
I was wearing thick gloves, a ski mask, a heavy coat, and a scarf.  The coat
he referred to is a lightweight jacket that I have.  He also told dispatch
that I must be cold-blooded or something to be out there in a chilly, windy
condition and be dressed warmly.  Either he said that to me trying to be funny
or to dispatch, I don't remember exactly which one.  The two male, Caucasian,
officers who were his back up got out of their car and the officer that
stopped me asked both of them if they were cold.  OK, this is when I believe
that he said that I must be cold-blooded or something.  One of them asked me
if I was sick, I said that I had a cold, which I have had for about two weeks
now.  I noticed that the officer had to add in the aspects of my clothing when
he called dispatch, as if he had to make up some good reasons for stopping me.
 First, he said a couple of items of clothing that I had on and then he had to
look real quick back at me to say something else, in my opinion, so that his
reason for stopping me for me looking "suspicious" wouldn't be so flimsy and
weak.  He never told me why it mattered if I looked "suspicious" or not or if
I had been harassing or bothering anyone.  I figure that the two police
officers were in a car with heat most likely and for them coming out of the
car and into the cold air, I don't think that they would be immediately cold,
or if they would even feel the cold any other way.  Each of us has different
bodies, what works for me does not work for them.  The cops mentioned that
they had seen people coming out of Morrill Hall an running to the gyms across
the street with shorts on in the cold weather.  Why weren't they stopped for
looking suspicious?  They talked about how they didn't know how the students
could go outside when it's cold in shorts and how they couldn't do it
themselves.
While waiting to have my ID back, my left hand became cold, because it was
windy outside and already cool; the wind made it worse.  He said that I looked
suspicious because I was the only one dressed warmly and everyone else did not
have on thick gloves, a heavy coat, or scarf on.  However, I have seen people
that night and at other times with their hands in the pockets or in the
jackets or coats because their hands were cold, and thus they also had jackets
or heavy coats on as well.  They may not have covered up their ears or
throat/mouth/nose, but I did though.  I know from experience that walking
around campus my whole face has been cold as well as my ears and hands, thus I
have tried to minimize that and as well protect my lungs from the cold air,
which from experience, has made my coughing and breathing worse when I'm
already sick.  I think that one of them asked me my major, I don't remember,
but I said something about me being in my fourth year in engineering.  They
asked me my year in school as well, one of them did.  Some people walked by,
they just quickly glanced and walked on by.  The one that stopped me said that
I had come out of the stairway and thought that I looked "suspicious" so he
stopped me.  One of the two asked if I had come out the fire/emergency exit
door, that door has a yellow tape - caution sign - police use across it so
people will not walk out that way.  Then, the officer that stopped me said
that I had walked out the door and down the stairs from the cafeteria.  If I
was just eating at the cafeteria, then I must not have been a threat and was
possibly a UT student or someone paying.  Also, did he or any other police
officer question everyone in the dorm if they were UT students or not.  I
remember seeing an elderly couple, Caucasian, and thinking to myself later on,
did he question them about being students there.  Regardless of whether I am a
UT student or not, if I was committing a crime, then I could do so just as
easily being a UT student or not being a UT student.  However, I did not
commit any crime.  Eventually, they found out my room number and hall name and
all that and my idea was given back to me.  I placed it back in my wallet and
then into my pocket.  Then, he apologized for the inconvenience and holding me
up and all that.  But, he said that I looked "suspicious", but never
"suspicious" of what.  So eventually I put my glove back on my left hand and
it was cold by then and I walked on towards the University Center for the
meeting. That's it.


I felt that one day I would be stopped by the police and so I was finally on
this past Wednesday.  I say that because whenever I am walking around campus,
I feel that they are watching me in their cars as they drive by or as they
drive by on their bicycles.  And they probably are or aren't watching me.  As
well, as a student involved in activism, I realize that the FBI might and
probably does have me and others on this campus and in this city/area of the
state of Tennessee under surveillance.  And I know that the FBI's job is much
easier when they have local access, in my case, the University of Tennessee
Police Department, and the Knoxville Police Department.  Now that they have my
name, Social Security Number, what I look like, Hall and Room number, I wonder
what will or does come next.  I don't feel that it was an isolated event in
the sense that I felt that they were waiting for this day to catch me on some
small, minor, thing, something legal (or illegal) that they could stop me for.
 I do not know though, thus I am sending this e-mail out for protection.  I am
glad that I was arrested though.  I was still shook up and upset afterwards
and a little scared.  Even today, I am still nervous and anxious when I see a
cop car roll by or walk into the dorms or on the streets and know that they
are in there watching and waiting.  I decided that I am not going to mess up
and allow them that route to me.  I don't feel that he was justified in his
stopping me because it was cool outside and windy, it was not hot and sunny,
and what I had on was appropriate for the time and the conditions outside.  If
you have any suggestions, assistance, encouragement, comments, questions, or
whatever please e-mail me back.  Thank-you all.  Until then.  Peace be unto
you.  Take care.

Irucka Ajani Embry
iembry@utk.edu