In an era when young black men are nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by police, Mbye Njie opted to be create a solution to address the growing number of racial profiling cases that have gained so much national attention in recent years.
After Michael Brown’s 2014 death in Ferguson, Missouri, Njie began thinking about developing an app to minimize the unnecessary police stops, searches and arrests against African-American males. Thus, the Legal Equalizer app was soon to follow.
“During the Michael Brown case, my Facebook feed was full of arguments regarding his controversial death, yet I was amazed that no one had discussed a way to record police incidents,” he said. “I got tired of seeing the news about citizens getting shot and tased.”
Around the same time in 2014, Njie was pulled over twice within the same month and told that he had an outstanding warrant.
“I knew nothing about a warrant yet the police officer threw me in the back of his car for 30 minutes because he claimed that he didn’t feel safe around me,” Njie said. “Then he let me go saying the warrant was invalid.”
The 34-year-old also recalled the countless number of times he and fellow black students were pulled over by police officers while attending Davidson College in the predominately white town of Davidson, N.C.
“I would say we got pulled over every three out of five times we were driving around town,” he said, which spurred the men to study up on North Carolina’s laws regarding police stops. “In creating this app, I wanted other people to see what happens when you get pulled over.”
The Legal Equalizer app, which was released in November of last year, records encounters with police, helps assess an individual’s offense and provides education about legal rights. Njie partnered with app developer Martin Davis, of Atlanta, for the passion project in hope to prevent police officers from continuing to abuse their power with black motorists.
“Our app is unlike any others out there because of the S.O.S. button. You can click it in the heat of confrontation and it instantly lets three people know that you’ve been pulled over and where you are,” he explained.
Njie also points out another distinction about his free app: Legal Equalizer users can retrieve their recorded video footage electronically later on if they need it.
“Right now we have 30,000 downloads and we hope to soon hit 100,000 downloads with the release of two new apps that will be released this year,” Njie said. “We also recently released a Spanish version of Legal Equalizer.”
He soon hopes to have app technology that allows a parent to view their son or daughter through a live stream on their computer to see what they’re dealing with.
“Our app is really important if you’re black between the ages of 16 and 25. But it’s not just for black people,” Njie said. “I’d tell anybody that you never know when you’re going to need it. And it can be used in more than just driving situations.”
Njie advice: The side of the road definitely isn’t where you want to have an argument with a police officer. Don’t argue or fight with them.
“It’s not worth it trying to be macho and argue. Just send an S.O.S. to your family members so they know what’s going on,” he said.
Njie wants to expand the Legal Equalizer to a force across the entire justice system. His GoFundMe campaign seeks to raise $25,000 for this and future apps.
“Our country is very divided right now, but I’ve found that both sides agree that we need criminal justice reform,” he said. “This app is a way people can know the law and their rights.”
You can learn more about the Legal Equalizer app here.
About Post Author
