It’s long been understood that if you have proximity to power, you’re likely to get away with a lot more than the average person.
In a viral video, a woman said it shouldn’t be this way. She specifically called out police officers for having different safety standards for their buddies vs. regular people who may not be pro-police.
In a TikTok, which has nearly 2 million views, Ash (@ashcapps_) shares a recent sighting that she says left her frustrated.
In the video, Ash says that she was recently out driving when one of those hulking G-Class Mercedes-Benz SUVs when she noticed something on the car’s license plate. New, those cars can retail for $150,000-$175,000, which is the price of a house in parts of the Midwest.
Upon further inspection, she says she figured out what it might be: a sticker indicating police support.
“That’s what they do when you are ‘supporting’ a police department, a sheriff’s organization, whatever. They’ll give you a sticker, they’ll give you a pin, they’ll give you a little emblem thingy to put on your license plate,” Ash says.
The light yellow sticker, she says, resembled a badge and partially covered one of the plate’s numbers.
“It’s technically still obstructing that number. This is actually illegal placement,” Ash correctly says.
“This is a signal to anybody that has authority over you that, ‘You don’t really need to pull me over; I’m good. I’m in the club,'” Ash says about how a person who has this sticker might be perceived by police.
@ashcapps_ Regulators regularly make regulations regulating what’s regular for regular people. But the regulators and their privileged group of favored friends routinely remain unregulated. #tmyk #powerandcontrol ♬ original sound – Ashcapps_
What does the sticker mean?
The emblem is often called a “Fraternal Order of Police” sticker. It can also be in the form of a card. It’s not official in any capacity. But having it signals to police officers that you support law enforcement or have a close friend or family member in the force.
These stickers or cards don’t guarantee that you’ll get out of trouble, but plenty of people view them as a “get out of jail free” card and have shared that in their experience, it works.
What is the Fraternal Order of Police?
The Fraternal Order of Police is an organization made up of current and former police officers and has more than 370,000 members nationwide. The organization is meant to advocate for the working conditions of police officers, provide legal assistance, and lobby for favorable legislation on their behalf.
The Fraternal Order of Police has faced criticism for protecting officers from facing consequences. They’ve historically opposed transparency measures like civilian oversight boards, the release of body camera footage, and reform to disciplinary procedures. The organization has also been called out for being racially homogenous and not reflecting the communities its officers serve.
Viewers weigh in
“Regulators regularly make regulations regulating what’s regular for regular people. But the regulators and their privileged group of favored friends routinely remain unregulated,” Ash said in the caption.
Her video has more than 2,600 comments with a range of reactions.
“Someone start selling the sticker on Etsy so we can all have one,” the top comment read.
“That won’t stop my dad lmao he’ll look at it and be like ‘nice’ then write you ticket,” a commenter said.
“It 100% slows down how often you’d get pulled over my dad used to donate just to get the sticker,” another added.
“My stepdad always had his military stickers everywhere while driving drunk, to & from work, & he was never ever stopped,” a person shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to the Ash for comment via email and to the Fraternal Order of Police via email.
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