“Don’t flush!”
This was the command that changed everything for Dakarai Larriett. Traversing regularly between Alabama and Michigan for work, on April 10, 2024, he was apprehended by the Michigan State Police. He alleges that he was subjected to seven sobriety tests, was the target of homophobic slurs, and taken in handcuffs to the hospital over the alleged infraction of running a red light. Despite testing negative for alcohol, he was then accused of trafficking drugs via ingestion and forced to use the restroom publicly in front of the booking officers, state troopers, and other inmates, while they shouted: “Don’t flush.”
This dehumanizing experience remains entrenched in Larriett’s mind and altered the course of his life. It became fuel for mounting a political campaign in his home state of Alabama for the U.S. Senate, and if elected, Larriett would be the first openly gay Black man to serve in the upper house. The first-time candidate is seeking the Democratic nomination and sat down with ESSENCE to discuss his campaign, the wrongful arrest and treatment that inspired it, and what he hopes to accomplish.
“What really got me into this race was my false arrest,” Larriett says. “I’m going to live with this for the rest of my life. The reality is, regardless of the fact that my matter was thrown out within three days and I never even was arraigned, this will live on my record for the next 40 to 50 years.”
As a Black man navigating the criminal justice system and now, the national political scene, Larriett recognizes the duality of holding space for both vulnerability and strength. “My family is not used to seeing me cry, and it took a lot of that to get to a better place. That and getting therapy,” he says, vociferously encouraging Black men to seek out services, “whether they have an interaction like this or not and talk about their feelings.” In fact, he views it as a strength.
“Acknowledging this is a long-standing tradition in our country, and having it happen to you doesn’t mean you did anything wrong,” he says. “But it’s how you respond to it and build.”
As part of his therapy, Larriett began writing detailed interrogatories about what happened that fateful night. These writings ultimately became the content of his recently released memoir, Don’t Flush!: From a False Arrest to a Political Awakening (2025). Larriett juxtaposed his own account with other stories of survival and resistance. “My grandparents were stopped by the KKK in Birmingham in 1957,” he says, highlighting parallels to his own experience.
In addition to his political run, he is pushing for the end to qualified immunity laws. “Qualified immunity is a type of legal immunity that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff’s rights,” per Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. For Larriett, this goes beyond his personal case, which is currently ahead of the Sixth Court of Appeals, just one level below the U.S. Supreme Court. His legal team is arguing that qualified immunity does not apply based on the facts.
Unfortunately, the reality is that this oftentimes is a legal crutch, allowing police officers to abuse civilians without the fear of having to face consequences. That’s why the Senate hopeful has also drafted legislation, a Motorist Bill of Rights proposal, that lays out federal rules and regulations to improve accountability and increase transparency within the policing system, making traffic stops and police interactions safer when they occur.
After working in policy and advocacy for two decades, Larriett says, “I have worked from the outside in, peacefully protesting, leading nonprofit organizations in harm reduction, healthcare, public health, and education, and it’s almost as if you’re always asking for permission,” he shares when asked why he’s seeking a U.S. Senate seat. “I think this is where I can make the most difference, and we have to change the laws federally.”
And he says the criminal justice system isn’t the only system that is broken in America. “We’ve got to rewrite the laws,” he says. “As I looked at the landscape and saw how things were turning in Alabama and in our nation, I said, ‘This is the place where I can actually impact the law,’ and the run itself has allowed me to speak on this issue and drive the discussion.”
He believes it’s crucial that others address important issues, too. If you keep up with the headlines, there’s no shortage of matters worth calling out. In addition to exercising their right to vote, he wants to encourage people to volunteer for a campaign aligned with their values and to make their voices heard.
“We all have to get involved this year,” says Larriett. “It is too critical, and we’ll look back and regret it if we don’t participate this year.”