City Desk  Driving While Phoning? Or Driving While Black?
According to court documents, in February 2007, four cops
were hunting for drug activity in the area of the 1200 block of
Raum Street NE. Cruising around in two patrol cars, at about
11:45 p.m., the officers passed Kendrick H. Gaines driving in
the opposite direction. Cops say they saw a light near his face
and figured it for a cell.  Court papers indicate Gaines
immediately pulled over when the police turned around to follow
and hit the lights. But when cops approached his vehicle, Gaines
flung open his car door and sprinted. A chase ensued.
Gaines then allegedly pitched a plastic bag full of cocaine and
marijuana into an alley. Cops caught up with him and recovered
the ditched contraband. Gaines was later convicted of two counts
of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The cops had purportedly seen someone violating the law and made
a stop. That stop ostensibly made a drug dealer panic, and led
to his arrest. It might all s