We have read a lot about the US police. When I heard the sirens I didn’t think they were for me, but after realizing that I was the problem, I can’t deny that I was worried. So, I pulled over with the van I was driving to get closer to the edge of the road. Despite some tension, the story has a happy ending. But it doesn’t always go so well.

The sirens and the stop sign: 30 kilometers per hour above the limit

I was on Interstate 380, the road I was taking after leaving Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota, where the World Press Institute is based, an American organization that every year selects ten journalists from the world for its two-month program in USA. This year uisjournal.com is part of it, with the special occasion of the presidential elections in the background. The destination of the trip in question was Iowa.

Two Hudson police cars stop behind me. An officer gets out from one, and from the other her colleague observes the situation from a distance. I roll down the window, we say goodbye and one of the policemen asks me for my license, which however is in the back of the van, in my backpack. So I politely ask you to get out of the vehicle so I can retrieve the document. After an initial hesitation, the policeman agrees and accompanies me. The other question is about insurance: I explain to him that it is a rented vehicle. He invites me to get back on board, telling me to close the door and wait.

Thus, the checks on the computer systems begin, which are not satisfactory, given that the agent immediately comes back to me to ask for my passport. But this document is also in my backpack, which is always in the back. And the curtain begins again, with permission granted to get out and escort to the rear of the vehicle. Then I am again invited to return to my seat: more checks are needed on the documents.

Upon his return he explains to me: “Okay, your visa is fine, but, you see, on this road the limit is 55 miles per hour, she was going 76.” That is, I was going at 122 kilometers per hour on a set limit of 88. I apologize, I feel embarrassed.

“How many people are on board?” he asks me. “Ten people, we are journalists from various parts of the world”, I reply. “Okay, then I need all the passports.” But not everyone has it, many have left it in the hotel. After further checks on the US organization hosting us, the policeman returns in the company of his colleague. And they give me some cards to distribute to the rest of the van.

“Um, is it a gift?” I ask in surprise. “Take them, you might need them – he replies -. For this time go, but in the future my colleagues might not be so kind if you continue to go above the speed limit”. The cards are business cards.

On the back is a biography and a final sentence, similar to a warning: “Your choices come with consequences, good and bad. Make the right choice.”

The first piece of advice I would like to give is not to give the police a reason to get stopped. I was guiltily over the limit and they were kind and understanding. But unfortunately, we know that it doesn’t always go so well.

Police violence in the USA: from George Floyd to Matteo Falcinelli

We have numerous examples in history where there wasn’t a single good reason, not only to stop someone, but more importantly to kill them. The visit to the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis reminded us of this. From the place where the police killed an unarmed citizen, something bigger was born, which gave voice to other injustices that had been kept in silence for too long.

Recently, an Italian citizen also suffered violence from the US police: this is what happened to Matteo Falcinelli, arrested in a brutal manner in Miami, Florida, as evidenced by a video in which he was “hogtied”, i.e. tied by the wrists and ankles. He emerged from prison with various wounds on his body. Now a judge has ruled that he won’t even stand trial.

According to a monitoring of Washington PostOn average and across all circumstances, U.S. police shoot and kill more than 1,000 people each year. From this monitoring, the US newspaper found that the data reported to the FBI on fatal police shootings was underestimated by more than half.

The number of victims has increased in recent years. In 2023, police killed 1,164 people, the highest figure ever recorded. With three months left in 2024, the deaths have reached 842. There were only ten days in which the police did not kill anyone.