I was coming back from some place I never should have been, when I crashed my car into a highway guardrail.

I was in a blackout drunk in the middle of the night. A cop pulled up, flashed his blues, and pulled me out of the highway— but he didn’t arrest me. He put me in the front seat of his squad car, where I quickly passed out— no cuffs, nothing.

Next thing I know, I’m at my mailbox: he gently woke me up, dropped me off at home, and had my car towed to the collision shop—I didn’t even get a ticket.

I know that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been white. If I had been arrested that night, I don’t think I would be here today.