Seimone Augustus blasts Roseville PD after air freshener traffic stop

I can totally see this happening.  Roseville PD does not follow the rules.  I fear them.  I've been threatened and had racial comments made towards me.  If something illegal DID happen to me, who would believe me?

People just love playing the race card.  I bet if this were Kevin Love being pulled over, you would have never even heard about the story.  Because, if course, he never would have made a big deal about it.  

I believe most of us have been "profiled" and pulled over because of it. I was pulled over in Lakeville about 11pm for "rolling through a stop sign" ( I never did!) He was looking for a drunk, or some other kind of trouble maker. After looking at my DL he actually asked me "What are you doing down here?" May I quote Seimone?  WTH I thought this was a free country! I said I was apparently rolling through stop signs. I was MAD!  Not ticketed, because he was hoping for a meth head or a drunk, but please! Quit making up thin excuses to pull people over, you're not fooling anyone, ever.

and as for everyone saying she should stop whining...umm, isn't that what social media is for?? :) haha

Personally, I think cavity searches and urine tests were in order here. She may have been trying to smuggle other, bigger, more-distracting air fresheners elsewhere on her person.

Have had the same thing happen but didn't realize it was a race thing or because I was DWB. Who do I complain to in order to feel better about myself?

@SnyderAndrew I'm writing a hip hopera on this very tragedy.

Stop complaining. Cops are heroes, and this is tax dollars well spent. I mean, sure, other more-serious crimes were probably committed while this officer was going through this bureaucratic nonsense involving air fresheners and out-of-state plates, BUT THAT'S HIS JOB, so get over it!

All I hear from you race card pullers is... Blah, blah, blah, blah!

Flagrant profiling.

@panopticon13 Had the same thing happen in Plymouth (pulled over for an air freshener). Cop also warned me my rear driver-side tire was low.

I understand what you're saying and agree - and with social media being a venting spot for many people these days I guess it just didn't bother me as much that she reacted that way because I don't blame her for feeling like she was targeted (given what I read about it) - even if in reality she wasn't.

@ Terese, my use of the word ignorant wasn't directed at you specifically and was not used in a negative tone. The thing to keep in mind about police/citizen interactions is that there is always 3 sides to a story, his, hers and the truth. Its actually a good idea to keep that in mind about life in general :) - I suspect Ms Augustus isn't giving an accurate description of her interaction with the police officer. In her anger, she probably doesn't remember all of what was said (or was not said). All of us at one time or another have been irritated when being pulled over for something, myself included. Where Ms Augustus was wrong was lashing out on her twitter account.

Officer Chau is a consummate professional and was simply doing his job. She is making a big deal out of nothing. She's supposed to be a role model, and all she is doing is showing that she is a butthurt child with some serious issues that need to be addressed by a professional.

@ Lisa - sorry I honestly don't remember that part when I took driver's ed. but it doesn't make me some ignorant horrible driver though. I guess I still would argue that Seimone's reaction was likely fueled (whether it was right or wrong) by the officer bringing up mall "thefts" to her which had nothing to do with her having an air freshener hanging from her rear view (and making her feeling targeted).

Your parking tag is illegal Mark, if you keep it hung WHILE you're driving. Your tag is used for exactly what it says PARKING.

GD Roseville police

So, is the parking tag my apartment building gave me to hang from my rearview mirror against the law? If so I should inform them. Also, I live in Little Canada, which is too close to those pesky Roseville police officers.

If she is going to play ball in MN, she might want to learn come MN laws and respect, and stop whining!

You are supposed to have Minnesota plates and license if you live here for more then 30 days. I think that is what the officer was getting at with the place

I am 44 and took drivers education in 1984. I remember it. Your quotation marks around the word law give the appearance that you didn't think it was a real law. Ignorance of the law isn't an excuse. Just like not knowing the speed limit. She wasn't targeted and she broke the law. It's pretty simple. However, she wasn't ticketed and the officer let her go. He absolutely could have given her a ticket. Lashing out at a police officer makes her look childish. We are all citizens and are bound by the social contract with police. I hope Ms Augustus never really needs the police for something serious, but if she does, they will be there for her. Even though she clearly has no respect for them.

Just another psuedo-celebrity taking it to the street while the whole time pondering the greater question, "How dare this officer stop me for a law i've never heard of, doesn't he know WHO I AM?"

Way to go, Officer Chau and Roseville Police Department. I feel ever so much safer now.

no one is disputing whether or not it's a law - sorry if my driver's ed training from 20+ yrs ago (yeah, I guess I'm old) didn't cover it though. Personally I don't hang anything from my rear view mirror anyway but the bigger point I was trying to make was that Seimone doesn't live here full time so probably not aware of it...thus why she felt targeted and proceeded to tweet about it.

Those of you who think it is not a law are wrong. MN state statute 169.71.

I don't believe big pink ball bags hung from the bumper are illegal. Anything hung from a rear view mirror is illegal, according to Mn Statute.

Terese Arens, I took drivers ed nearly 15 years ago and remember this being covered, it is not new. Perhaps you should pick up a copy of the rules of the road from the local DMV and give it a read over.

Yep, I have heard of that happen Kathie, insurance companies will use anything to get out of paying, so better safe then sorry and don't hang anything off the mirror and no stickers on your back windshield.

I can't even believe race is being discussed. Maybe people like Nicholas Goers don't take the "race card" stuff seriously because of people crying wolf like situations like this. She was stopped for a stoppable offense and there was no citation. BFD.

Nicholas Goers I don't know what alternate universe you live in or how WHITE you are. Guessing by your response very white and very fucking clueless. A black woman with an air freshener hanging in her rearview is about 5000 times more likely to get pulled over than some hick driving a giant gas guzzling truck with a big pink ball bag hangin off the back bumper. Time to take your South Saint Paul tinted glasses off and clean all that cow shit out of your eyes.

I do see why it got her riled up. But that doesn't make her less of a crybaby. A few weeks ago A manager at Savers followed me out of the store and accused me of stealing some shirts. I had to show him my receipt. I did not take to twitter and use my celebrity ( ya know, if I had any) to bitch about it (several times), give the managers name, and complain that it ruined my celebration.

I got pulled over for a little heart my son gave me that was hanging. I got a then $60.00. Ticket. I knew better from D.E. it is a law. Doesn't matter what color you are.. Found out if I had an accident insurance company said I would be at fault w/ it hang.

and when you were pulled over was there discussion re: thefts at the mall brought up to you as well? Yeah she was given a warning it's not the end of the world but perhaps you can see why it got her riled up at the time?

It's a law used to pull people over when they can't justify a stop. I've been in cars when people have been pulled over with junk hanging from their rear view mirror and the officer never even addressed it. I've spoke with officers who say its a discretionary law, if they WANT to say something they will. If its a law EVERYONE should have to abide by it ALL the time!

I was gonna say, I don't know officer "Chau", but something tells me he's not a white dude.

"ruining my day off and western conference champion celebration"!!!! What a fucking crybaby. We got pulled over in Roseville several years ago for the same thing. Guess what, Reier Erickson? We were white!

Yeah... because officer "Chau" is a well known South East Asian/ American racial profiler. She broke a law (probable cause for traffic stop) and let go with a warning.

Not supposed to hang ANYTHING from your rearview mirror. Too distracting. Common sense people.

This was covered in drivers ed? I'm sorry but I never heard of this "law" before and would venture a guess most people aren't familiar with it. I think the bigger issue is why was she pulled over and WHY was "theft" at the mall even brought up to her in the discussion? And she lives here only 5 mo's out of the year. Give her a break.

...And there's the race card! Laws are laws, follow them or STFU and stop complaining... oh and the race card is such a crock of shit so stop using it...