by Dale Chappell
How much does a ticket for not using your turn signal “a full 100 feet” before making a lane change cost in Oklahoma County? Apparently, all the cash you have in your car, if you’re a wealthy black entertainer who is mistaken for a drug dealer by the cops.
Harvey “DJ Speedy” Miller, who has worked with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, was driving from his home in Atlanta to his other home in L.A. when he was stopped by an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy for not using his turn signal a full 100 feet before changing lanes.
Suspicious of Miller’s story, the cop asked if he could search the car. “No, you can’t search my vehicle. What warrants you to search my vehicle?” said Miller, who has no criminal record.
Then, the cops brought in their best friend: The K-9 Unit. After all, a K-9 “sniff” isn’t a search, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. No permission needed, no warrant needed. The dog alerted for possible drugs, but the cops found none. “I’ve never used drugs,” Miller said. “I’m not drinking, I wasn’t speeding – I wasn’t doing nothing.”
Cops, however, did find almost $150,000 in cash, which they seized, claiming Miller’s car smelled like marijuana. Miller was then arrested on suspicion of possession of drug proceeds (the cash) and possession of a fake $20 bill found in the pile of loot. He was released after 12 hours in jail but was never charged with a crime.
The music producer says the stop was racially motivated. “I was racially profiled, plain as day — no way around it.” He said the cop immediately came to him with, “Where are you going? What’s in your car?”
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office denied the accusation, saying in a statement that “the numbers we see are in line with the population of Oklahoma County.”
Miller, though, wants his money back. “You have nothing on me except I have money. I’m black and I have money,” he said.
