shedding some light on cops & hoodies

The hubbub over this shooting case in Florida has created some new spin about black men being unfairly targeted because they are wearing hooded sweatshirts (AKA “hoodies.”)

A friend of mine who works as a narcotics detective — and also happens to be black — said it is quite common for suspects to use hoodies to disguise their appearance and help hide their identities from police.

My friend says quite a few armed robbery suspects hit convenience stores while wearing a hooded sweatshirt (with hood up). I’ve entered a number of convenience stores with signs on the door that say ‘Remove hoods before entering store.’

(Ever notice how EVERY piece of crime scene surveillance videotape shows the suspect wearing a HOODIE?) 

My friend also says young men walking around with hoods on their heads — during somewhat warm weather — are a HUGE red flag for law enforcement officers:

“If it’s 60 degrees out, and it’s not raining, and homey is wearing his hood up on his head, the first question I ask is ‘what has he been up to?’  It’s like my man is trying to hide his face –hide his identity from the po-po.  When I or one of my co-workers sees something like that, it is an open invitation to go up and check this person out. “

My detective friend laments the popularity of ‘thug culture’ among some young black AND white men:

“For the life of me, I CANNOT understand why you would WANT to look like a scary thug.  If you want to dress like that, don’t act all surprised when the police start paying a lot of attention to you, and older people start acting all defensive.”