Jon Jones says reports of citing officer’s racial profiling history “bringing light to who I was dealing with”

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Jon Jones (art credit Grant Gould © MMATorch)

Jon Jones’ latest traffic stop led to a more than two day stay in jail on a probation violation and added further terms to his remaining 12 months, but as he gears up to fight the citations in court he may have some added backing.

The officer who pulled Jones over in Albuquerque for allegedly drag racing has had numerous complaints lodged against him for racial profiling, and there’s currently a lawsuit pending against him as well. With local Albuquerque news picking up on that story, Jones took to Instagram to share further thoughts on what happened during that stop.

“Officer Brown all over the news in Albuquerque after reporters dig up how many times he has been in trouble for racial profiling in the past. Being a father of biracial children, I’m definitely not want (sic) to pull the race card. At the same time, I’m not necessarily surprised about this discovery, after the run and I had with him,” Jones wrote. “Having him stand there, look me in the eyes and start accusing me of several things him and I both know I didn’t do made me feel betrayed by the community, he made me feel powerless, he made me feel like what was actually true had no power over him.

“Now it’s easier for me to understand why so many people hold resentment towards law enforcement. Officer brown almost single-handedly ruined my trust in law-enforcement. The sad thing about it is I actually went to school for criminal justice, I wanted to be an officer myself. Fortunately I know better than to let one person ruin my views of a whole group. Just glad someone is finally bringing light to who I was dealing with that night.”

Officer Brown all over the news in Albuquerque after reporters dig up how many times he has been in trouble for racial profiling in the past. Being a father of biracial children, I’m definitely not one to pull the race card. At the same time, I’m not necessarily surprised about this discovery, after the run in I had with him. Having him stand there, look me in the eyes and start accusing me of several things him and I both know I didn’t do made me feel betrayed by the community, he made me feel powerless, he made me feel like what was actually true had no power over him. Now it’s easier for me to understand why so many people hold resentment towards law enforcement. Officer brown almost single-handedly ruined my trust in law-enforcement. The sad thing about it is I actually went to school for criminal justice, I wanted to be an officer myself. Fortunately I know better than to let one person ruin my views of a whole group. Just glad someone is finally bringing light to who I was dealing with that night.

A video posted by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on

Jones returns to the cage on April 23 against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, and he’s got a court date set for May 11 on the citations he received less than three weeks ago.

Penick’s Analysis: Jones felt from the outset that he was unfairly targeted by the officer when he was pulled over, and he reacted as such in that back and forth that was caught on camera. Now, that’s not to say the stop was entirely unwarranted, because simply revving his engine at the stop light as he did was a violation, but it certainly seemed like things were escalated, and that the added citations he received were overkill. How much the officer’s history plays into the defense will be left for court in May, but on that end where there’s smoke there’s fire, and Jones could have his name added to the list of complaints against that particular individual.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Attention iPhone/iPad and Android users, if you’ve enjoyed our app in the past and followed us there, or if you’ve never checked it out, make sure to update to the latest version in the Apple store and/or Google Play store. We’ve launched a new look for the app, in line with our recent desktop overhaul. Make sure to check it out!

For current App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*