- We actually have a line that we do at our house.
We practice this thing.
What is it?
- I'm Ariel Sky Williams.
I'm eight years old,
I am unarmed, and I have nothing that will hurt you.
- That's just kind of a thing we practice at our house.
(calm music)
- There are great police officers out there.
There's also some police officers who are not so good.
- And my fear is that you run across one of those bad ones.
- For some reason,
people of color have always been a target by the police.
- Before they became a policeman, they were a person.
And that person took all their ideas
and all their thoughts
and all their prejudice into their job.
- Why would a police officer assume
that you did something bad?
- Maybe because of my skin color?
- I remember being put in handcuffs
for something that had nothing to do with me.
I was literally walking in the mall.
Cops slammed me on the ground,
busted my lip, chipped my tooth.
That actually made me really mad.
- How 'bout the time they pulled us over
with me in the car and arrested me
and left all of you guys sittin' in the car
and nobody knew how to drive on the side of the road?
Because the bumper on the car was kinda hanging off?
- No.
- You know, we live in Puyallup.
There's people that don't even have a bumper on their car.
- My rear brake light wasn't working,
and I got to my destination, and they were working.
- I was about your age, actually.
They grabbed me.
- Why?
- I didn't know at the time.
They just grabbed me.
They threw me onto the police car.
- I got tased that time.
That time they tased me
because they said I wasn't complying.
- [Director] Ariel, are you okay?
(Ariel crying) - What's wrong, baby?
- [Director] You guys can
(Ariel sobbing)
- I'm okay, I'm alive, all right?
Every day I get to see you,
I get to do this, right?
All right, come on, let's calm down.
Let's finish this, all right?
You good?
Hey, you makin' me cry.
Come on.
- You have to be careful when you're out there in this world
because this world's not gonna be always be honest
or fair to you.
I know, Sean, you got a little bit lighter
than the rest of 'em,
so there's a possibility you won't get stopped.
- [Producer] Pretend like we just pulled him over.
- Okay.
- If you're driving, a cop pulls you over.
- Police gets out the car, comes to the window.
Tut-tut-tut-tut-tut.
What would you do?
- License and registration please, ma'am.
- Why do you think I pulled you over?
- I don't know, tell me.
- When a police officer says something to you,
don't, don't your black.
You can't be looking at them saying,
"Oh I don't know, why don't you tell me?".
- Well, I mean--
- That right there is giving them, to them,
the license to pull you outta your car
and physically harm you because it will be done.
- Don't get upset, don't get sassy,
"Why did you pull me over?".
Just follow instructions and stay calm.
- Okay.
- Do you think just being a police officer
and pulling you over,
regardless if you feel you've done something or not,
they should get your respect?
- That's a tricky question.
- The answer is--
- [Together] Yes.
- If you gotta go to your wallet to get your I.Ds say,
"Can I go reach in my back pocket to get my I.D out?".
- You can do what I do and I show them my hands
so when they're walking up they see,
I don't have anything in my hands.
- I'm Ariel Sky Williams
and I have nothing that'll harm you or hurt you.
- And what's the next place you put your hands
when your driving
or on the steering wheel with your hands out.
- If at all possible, turn your phone on.
- And call someone and put it on speaker.
- Yeah.
But whatever your doing, I want you to say
what you're doing before you do it.
- You don't write any statements.
- Well you have to write a statement.
- You don't have to write anything, you're a minor.
I'm responsible for you, no one can tell you anything else.
- If he tells you to be quiet, be quiet.
Do everything that you can to get back to me.
I see it weighing on you
and I don't want it to weigh on you.
- I'm just worried about Donovan.
I'm worried about him now.
- [Producer] Who are you guys talking about?
- My nephew,
and her cousin.
- I don't want him to be shot.
I don't want him to go to jail.
- [Producer] If you could say anything to police,
what would you say?
- Learn about people.
Learn about their problems.
- Take some diversity training.
I mean, it should be like,
at this point a monthly requirement.
- There's really nothing at this point that they could do
that will make me feel any safer with or without them
just point blank, clearing them all out,
and starting all over from scratch.
- But don't always assume that all of them are bad.
- Mm hmm.
But all you see on the news and in newspapers
and it keeps happening.
It's just in a different way.
It's like how people are like,
"you should forgive so and so",
but they keep doing it to me.
I forgave them, but they keep doing it to me.
It gets harder and harder to forgive them.
- Wow.