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A Black man said he was pulled over by New Jersey police for simply having an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror of his car.
According to the Independent, a viral TikTok video shows the encounter between Alex Harbour and a Wall Township Police Department officer.
“When they pull you over for NO REASON but have to find A REASON,” the video's caption reads.
In the video, Harbour appears to ask the officer why he was pulled over. The officer told him that he allegedly failed to use his blinker, which Harbour denied, and that his air freshener was obstructing his view.
“He has no reason to pull me over at all,” Harbour said in the video. He also alleged that the officer followed him down the street despite him obeying traffic laws.
At one point in the video, Harbour asked the officer if he could speak to his supervisor because he didn't agree with the reasoning behind the stop. The officer said the action wasn't necessary, though state law allows anyone stopped by the police to make the request.
In a follow-up video, Harbour spoke to a supervising officer and asked to receive dashcam footage of the stop. Harbour was told that wasn't possible unless he received a ticket.
Harbour was ultimately ticketed for hanging an air freshener on his mirror and not for the alleged blinker offence. Under the law in at least half a dozen states across the nation, hanging items from the rearview mirror of a car is considered a traffic violation, per NewsOne.
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