We’re Not Targets We’re Human: A Mother’s Plea for Emotionally Intelligent Policing
A mother’s firsthand account of a traffic stop gone wrong, revealing why emotional intelligence and empathy must become standard in modern policing.
We’re Not Targets We’re Human: A Mother’s Plea for Emotionally Intelligent Policing
On the evening of July 26, 2025, my children and I experienced something no family should ever go through.
I was pulling up to my house, rushing to get my 7-year-old son inside. He was about to have an accident. We were only feet from the front door.
Then, blue lights appeared behind us.
The officer initiated a traffic stop for a front plate. I calmly explained we lived there, and my child needed the bathroom. I asked for a supervisor.
I wasn’t yelling. I wasn’t resisting.
I was just being a mom.
But I was yanked out of my car.
Placed in handcuffs.
My 7-year-old used the bathroom on himself.
My 5-year-old daughter cried hysterically.
All of this happened in front of our home.
What Could Have Changed This Outcome?
Emotional intelligence.
Not more authority.
Not backup.
Not force.
Just a moment of compassion.
Just the human decency to say: “Go ahead and take your son inside. I’ll wait.”
Policing Without Compassion Is Trauma
This wasn’t about safety.
This wasn’t about the law.
It was about control.
It was a failure to recognize humanity in a high-stress moment.
And my children paid the emotional price.
The Real Question Is This:
If the officer were in my shoes…
Wouldn’t he want someone to treat him like a human?
This Isn’t Just My Story
This happens every day in communities like mine.
Which is why I’m calling for:
Emotional intelligence training in every police department
Trauma-informed response policies
Immediate accountability for officers who escalate unnecessarily
A shift from punishment to protection
Because My Children Deserve Better.
And so do yours.
📢 Share this blog.
📍 Tag your city officials.
🧠 Join the conversation about what policing could look like if it centered compassion, empathy, and understanding, not assumptions.
Let’s break the cycle, together.
DonQuitta "Dee" Clements
Cultural Shift Advocate
support@iamdonquitta.com