Senator Makes Stark Claim as Senate Looks Into Police Departments’ Use of Force

Sen. Lindsey Graham kicked off a Senate hearing Tuesday on police brutality by contrasting his experience with police with that of his fellow South Carolina GOP colleague Sen. Tim Scott to illustrate the problem with policing today and to make the case for federal reform legislation. . .

“Tim and I have completely different experiences with the cops,” Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in his opening remarks. “There is no getting around that. It is now time to have an honest conversation about why is that? How can it be that if you’re a United States senator from South Carolina, and you’re black, you get stopped five or six times? And you’re white, you never get stopped?”

Graham said he’s learned to understand the fright black men have of police and how getting pulled over can be a “traumatic experience.”

“Every black man in America apparently feels threatened when they’re stopped by the cops,” Graham said. “It’s not 99 percent. It’s like 100 percent.”

“I’ve never been stopped,” Graham, R-S.C., continued. “And when I see a cop behind me, the first thing I think about is ‘what did I do wrong and can I talk myself out of this ticket.’ There’s literally no fear. And I wouldn’t like to live in a country where I’d be afraid to be stopped.” (Read more from “Senator Makes Stark Claim as Senate Looks Into Police Departments’ Use of Force” HERE)

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