If you have a driver’s license, you can probably think of a time when a police officer treated you just a little bit unfairly. Maybe the light really was yellow, or you were in the car with the out-of-state license plate following traffic around you, or the road was poorly marked. You probably felt frustrated, powerless, and angry. But you can probably also think of a time when a police officer helped you or someone you know with a problem like a car accident or a flat tire. You wouldn’t be reluctant to call them to report a crime or ask them for help.

I believe the majority of police are good people trying to do the right thing in an incredibly difficult job, often without the resources they need. We expect them to enforce the law and be specialists in everything from first aid to addiction and mental health all at the same time. But I have also seen that when a small minority of police officers are not good people, and they have the force of law behind them, it can have disturbing results, especially for people who look like me. Ultimately, this means that people who look like me don’t usually grow up being taught that the police are here to help; we hear, "Be careful, don’t say anything, do whatever you are told." That’s because when force is used against a community in a way that is disproportionate or illegitimate, we stop trusting and respecting that authority, and when that happens, we all lose.

Nearly every black person I know has been harassed by the police at some point in their lives. I had a police officer in a neighboring community treat me as though I had stolen my wife’s car before we were married because he didn’t see her sitting in the passenger seat. He put a magnetic tracking device on the trunk, and approached, yelling “Whose car is this?”

On several occasions, an officer has pulled me over, and when I ask why, they say it is just a "routine check." At the same time, I’ve seen my wife make an illegal U-turn only to have a police officer assume she didn’t know what she was doing and ask if she needed directions; something I found especially ironic because I am always telling people she is smarter than me.

As President Obama has said in the past, like most men of color, I have been pulled over and sometimes it was because I deserved it. But I have also been pulled over other times when I have done nothing wrong. At those times, one of the hardest parts was feeling like there was absolutely nothing I could do about it and knowing it would continue to happen to other people.

I am a multiracial person who other people try to put into categories that separate and divide us, because often that is easier than talking about things that are uncomfortable like racism and sexism and homophobia. Categories that focus on differences and stop us from reaching out and connecting, from being compassionate, listening, and respecting each other.

I am thankful to say that none of the instances of police harassment I have personally experienced have happened here in Waltham. That is part of why Anna and I decided to move here; it is a vibrant, diverse, and welcoming community. The car you drive and the clothes you wear can’t change the color of your skin or the way people view you, because most of the situations mentioned took place in different cars, and regardless of whether I was wearing a hoodie or a suit and a bow tie.

Like most people, I am troubled and saddened by the recent events around the country. I do not want to see anyone get killed, and I do not want to have to choose between supporting a minority community I’m a part of and supporting police officers who I want to feel like I can trust to help me in an emergency. I do not think there is anything wrong or inconsistent with respecting police officers and holding them to a high standard of conduct at the same time. So rather than pitting people against each other by putting us in divisive categories, let’s work together to be better.

I want our city, our state, and our country to always respect the dignity and humanity of all people, and especially when it is not easy to. To do that, we need diversity in government at all levels. Diversity includes people of all races, genders, sexual orientation, religions, and backgrounds. If like so many people I have talked to recently, you are wondering what you can do to help, becoming more involved in our community is a great place to start.

- Clarence Richardson is a Waltham resident and chair of the Waltham Historical Commission.