The Issue: The police pulling over Councilmember Yusef Salaam for window tint and out-of-state plates.
I don’t understand why City Councilman Yusef Salaam would be so outraged at being stopped by the police (“It Was a Good Stop, Yusef,” Editorial, Jan. 29).
They just wanted to see why his BMW had such darkly tinted windows. After all, doesn’t Salaam know that NYPD Det. Russell Timoshenko was shot to death from another BMW with very darkly tinted windows back in 2007?
Unlike Salaam, however, Timoshenko didn’t get to go home safely.
Instead of being outraged by this car stop, perhaps Salaam should be outraged by the potential release of Todd Scott — one of the assassins of NYPD Officer Edward Byrne in 1988. Like Timoshenko, Byrne also didn’t get to go home safely.
John Fox
Sunnyside
Salaam was pulled over for his very dark window tint on his car — illegal in New York.
At first he lied about the exchange that he had with the police officer who pulled him over. Body-camera evidence then proved that Salaam was a liar.
But the question remains: Why did Salaam have a car that is both registered in Georgia and has a Georgia license plate?
David DiBello
Bay Ridge
The stop was made by a police officer who observed that Salaam’s car windows were tinted too darkly under state law.
According to The Post, “Salaam was pulled over shortly before 6:30 p.m. while driving a blue sedan with his family inside.” His car also bore a Georgia license plate. The officer, by the way, recorded the event on his body camera. Very transparent.
Salaam then played the “I’m a member of the City Council” card. Salaam learned the power of that card fast: The issue went away as the officer said he was done.
The councilman later complained that he was not told the reason for the stop. But whatever happened to the idea that no one is above the law?
Jim Grant
Jensen Beach, Fla.
The question people should be asking regarding Salaam’s traffic stop is: Why was he allowed to proceed?
After all, he clearly had dark tinted windows and a Georgia license plate.
Palmer Doyle
Belle Harbor
According to some people, cops can’t seem to do anything right. Well, that definitely is the view of Salaam — who is currently the chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five.”
A cop was very well justified in pulling over Salaam in Harlem on Friday night. His car had an out-of-state license plate and dark tinted windows — items correlated with crime.
The police officer acted courteously and professionally — and once he realized that there was no imminent danger, he let Salaam be on his way.
However, rather than appreciate the vigilance of the officer involved, Salaam bemoans the fact that the officer didn’t explain the reason for pulling him over.
I thought Salaam would be a little smarter and realize that sometimes an out-of-state plate and tinted windows can spell trouble.
Frank Brady
Yonkers
Salaam had to cry “racism” after he got pulled over.
When a cop pulled him over for illegal window tint, he had no idea who was in the car or what race the driver was. Right after he was pulled over, Salaam pulled the “councilman” card and the cop — with no hesitation — tells him have a good night.
The same way he tries to pull the race card, Salaam had no problem pulling out his councilman card.
Rob Cerone
Manhattan
Salaam is alleging he was stopped for no reason. The body camera video shows exactly why — his dark window tint.
The officer was polite and courteous. He did not even request Salaam’s identification as a councilmember. He simply took his word for it, told him to have a good one and walked away.
Nice try, Salaam. But maybe next time you can tell us why you were driving around with an out-of-state license plate.
Mike Lapinga
Staten Island
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