Chance the Rapper Livestreams Police Stop in Chicago

October 11, 2017

  •  When Chance the Rapper was pulled over in Chicago, he livestreamed the stop over Instagram. Chance started livestreaming when his girlfriend Kristen Corley was pulled over on Sunday. In the live stream he said “Kirsten got pulled over. You know, just want y’all to be here, in case in gets out of hand…I have great faith in humanity, and in the men and women who put on the badge…But, you know, you can’t be too careful. Chance and his family made it through the routine stop safely. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois State Police stopped Corley only was issued a warning for a moving violation. During the livestream, Chance said this when he noticed Worldstar Hip Hop was watching: Shout out to Worldstar for tuning in. Y’all could really help me out if it goes sideways.  Racial profiling of African-American drivers has been a big issue in our country. The term “Driving While Black” has been around since the 1990s, highlighting how disproportionately African-Americans are pulled over for little to no cause. Celebrities have spoken out about this issue. In an interview from 2015, Jamie Foxx said, “Me, being an African American entertainer, I still get nervous when the cops pull me over… I got stopped a few weeks ago… When [the police officer] yelled at me, he yelled like I was crazy. He talked to me like I wasn’t human.” Cell phones and live streaming have made this issue more visible. Chris Rock posted a series of selfies in just February 2015, documenting all the times he was pulled over. And for some citizens, traffic stops have turned deadly. In July 2016, Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a livestream recorded by Castile’s girlfriend Diamond Reynolds. Castile revealed he had a gun to the officer, but was shot reaching for his driver’s license.  Although the event was captured on a cellphone and a dashcam, the officer who killed Castile was acquitted this year. In case you are wondering, it’s legal to film a traffic stop. Jesse Bright, a lawyer and Uber driver, filmed himself during a traffic stop as the police arrested his passenger. One police officer tried to arrest Jesse for recording a video of the ordeal. Have you ever been pulled over? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.