A black Maryland emergency room doctor released a book detailing 11 ways people should interact with the police so they make it home safely.
Dr. Geoffrey Mount Varner emphasized practicing humility and respect in his new self-published book “Home Alive: 11 Must Rules for Surviving Encounters with the Police,” WTOP reported Wednesday.
Mount Varner wrote the book in the hopes of helping people, especially young black men, make it home alive after being stopped by the police. He started the book after realizing that his 11-year old son could be fatally shot by an officer. While the book won’t fix all police shootings, Mount Varner hopes it will start to bridge the divide between law enforcement and regular citizens.
“THIS BOOK WILL GET YOU HOME ALIVE. Are you tired of the news reports of police killings? Do you worry if your son or loved one is next? Are you concerned if your child or loved one knows what to say or how to respond to the police? Home Alive will ease your worries. It is an absolute URGENT READ,” the Amazon description reads.
His biggest piece of advice is for citizens to act humbly when a police officer stops them and to “put their egos aside.”
“It seems simple, but at the end of the day an officer wants to feel respected,” Mount Varner said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. The officer on that scene, he controls that scene. He or she expects you to treat him with respect and deference.”
Mount Varner also warns drivers from making any sudden movements with their hands. It’s best to remind a police officer that you will be moving your hands to reach for your wallet, Mount Varner said, so he doesn’t get startled by any of your movements.
“The first thing you do is you ask him for every move. If he says ‘Get your registration out,’ and then you repeat back to the officer ‘You’re saying I can get my registration out? That’s okay officer?'” Mount Varner said.
Not everyone took the book advice well, and some went on Twitter to accuse Mount Varner of blaming black victims for getting shot instead of holding the police accountable.
“Everybody pause and take a deep breath. Read what ‘I’ wrote. Read the book. Your assumptions are completely false,” Mount Varner wrote in response to the outrage.
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