by Quedus Babalola  

On a recent Friday night dinner date with her girlfriend, Sam Rodriguez was constantly irritated by her itchy bra. The 16-year-old Mt. Eden local reminded herself that wearing this undergarment was the most painful thing she’s done.

Sam, a transgender female, learned this after being stopped on her way home that night.  She was with her girlfriend when a cop demanded she stand against the wall while he searched her.  Sam’s girlfriend stood by and cried at what she was seeing–a stop and frisk encounter. Sam said she felt like she did something wrong – that she was wrong for being her.

Usually Sam binds her chest with a tight wrap, but after she was stopped and frisked she decided she needed to look more female to avoid police harassment.

Unfortunately, Sam isn’t the only teen who has become fashion conscious as a way to avoid being among the 69 percent of teens who have been stopped and frisked by the police since the program started, according to NYPD data provided by NYCLU.

The majority of teenagers being stopped by the police are either black, Hispanic or members of the LGBTQ community, the NYCLU reports. Now some teenagers are changing the way they dress, an important part of teen expression, seeing as a link between going about one’s business or being stopped and frisked.

“I might as well color my face white, maybe then the cops will leave me alone,” said 17-year-old Essa Waggeh.  Essa of Melrose was stopped by cops in front of his group of racially-mixed friends. The young dark skinned African-American complied with the police but when he got home, he said he burst into tears. He felt as if he were a criminal and now the cops would be on the look out for him continuously. To avoid future harassment, Essa gave up his baggy jeans and sweater for skinny jeans and button up shirts. He made the change voluntarily but out of necessity. He said he is frustrated that he can’t express himself in public.

And while teens like Sam and Essa succumbed to internal pressure to change their appearance, Bronx resident Paul Ramirez has balked at changing how he looks even after repeated stops by police.

“How I’m dressed shouldn’t be the basis of anything at all,” said Ramirez, who operates the online clothing store dubbed “From The Bronx,” which sells apparel showcasing Bronx pride.

As a light-skinned Puerto Rican, Ramirez and his brother get stopped when they are predominantly in black neighborhoods. He said it was because they don’t blend is as much.  Still, Ramirez has stood his ground, though he maintains a friendly demeanor with officers.

“It forces me to be more diplomatic to police officers,” Ramirez said, adding that stop and frisk and racial profiling go “hand in hand – they’re boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Under new mayor Bill De Blasio, the policy will be under review but that doesn’t change the fact that some teens say they feel ashamed to express who they really are.

“The police should try putting them into our shoes and see how it feels to be harassed because of our right to freedom of expression,” Sam said.